An Israeli husband and father was captured on video hugging his wife and two young daughters after they were released by Hamas on the first day of the ceasefire.
Yoni Asher, 37, wrapped his arms around his wife, 34-year-old Doron Katz Asher, and daughters Raz, 4, and 2-year-old Aviv, at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva Friday, a video shared by the hospital showed.
Doron, Raz, and Aviv were abducted by Hamas from Doron’s mother’s house in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, the Times of Israel reported.
Doron’s mother, Efrat Katz, was killed by the terrorists in the surprise attack, the outlet added.
At one point during the family of four’s touching reunion, Raz could be heard telling her father that she had dreamed about going home.
“Your dream came true. Soon we are going home. We are just here for the doctors to check you, and then we’re going home,” Yoni said.
“My family Doron Raz and Aviv returned home to me,” Yoni later said in a statement, per the Times of Israel. “I am determined to help my family recover from the terrible trauma and loss we went through, for the future of the girls and Doron.”
“I am happy that I got my family back,” he continued. “But I don’t celebrate, I won’t celebrate until the last of the hostages returns,” referring to the hundreds of captives remaining in Hamas custody.
“I want to emphasize — our children, our fathers, our mothers, our sisters — are at this time in captivity, there are people whose hearts are broken at this time and I want to make sure that every last hostage person will return home.”
Doron, Raz, and Aviv were among 24 hostages, mostly Israelis and Thai nationals, released Friday in the first phase of Israel and Hamas’ tentative ceasefire agreement.
The group, which included several women and children, were photographed reuniting with their families as they received medical evaluations.
A second group of about 13 more hostages was expected to be released on Saturday in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.