An 85-year-old Israeli great-grandmother whose golf cart abduction by Hamas terrorists quickly became one of the war’s most powerful images was among the first batch of hostages released Friday amid a temporary ceasefire.
Yafa Adar was among the 13 Israeli women and children freed from Gaza and turned over to the Red Cross as part of the four-day truce between Hamas and Israel.
The elderly woman’s face was splashed across the globe in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack after a harrowing image emerged of her sitting on a golf cart surrounded by heavily-armed Hamas gunmen.
Adar, wrapped in a pink blanket, had defiantly stared ahead as she was driven into the Palestinian enclave following the raid on her Nir Oz kibbutz.
“I can’t even start to understand how people think it makes sense to kidnap an 85 years old lady, kidnap babies, kidnap kids,” her granddaughter, Adva Adar, said soon after the images emerged. “It’s not human”.
“She’s a strong lady,” the granddaughter continued. “And you can see there, she’s sitting trying to show them, she’s not afraid and she’s not hurt. And if they will take her, they will take her with her pride.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly Adar would be reunited with her relatives.
The Israeli military said the released hostages underwent an initial medical assessment inside Israeli territory before being taken to Israeli hospitals to be reunited with their families.
“We have just completed the return of the first batch of our hostages. Children, their mothers and other women. Each and every one of them is a world in itself,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“But I stress to you, the families, and to you, citizens of Israel: We are committed to returning all our hostages.”
Among those released were four children each accompanied by a female relative, as well as five elderly women, including Adar.
Ten Thai nationals and one Filipino citizen being held in Gaza were also freed, Qatar Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari confirmed.
Under the terms of the temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire, 50 women and children hostages will be released over the four days. In exchange, 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed during the ceasefire.
Israel has said the truce could be extended if more hostages are released at a rate of 10 per day.