Watch: 9-year-old freed by Hamas runs to hug his father in Israel

Footage released by Schneider Children’s Medical Centre showed Ohad running towards his father. The four children were all in relatively good condition, Gilat Livni, the centre’s Director of Pediatrics told reporters. Some spoke of what they had been through, she said, but declined to provide further details.

9 year old Ohad Munder, meets his dad for the first time after being held hostage for 49 days and 10 hours by Hamas monsters in Gaza.
We will not rest until they’re all home.#BringThemAllHome
pic.twitter.com/yq2enx2qJb

— Dan Poraz (@PorazDan) November 25, 2023

More of Ohad’s relatives can’t wait to reunite with him. “I’m waiting to see Ohad and can’t wait to give him his Rubik’s cube which I know he really loved and he probably missed it so much,” said his 27-year-old cousin Roni Haviv, as she watched footage of Ohad, wearing a Spiderman baseball cap being handed over by Hamas fighters to Red Cross staff, news agency Reuters reported.

“That’s the first thing he takes everywhere he goes,” she added. Hospital photos later showed Ohad playing with a Rubik’s Cube and blowing bubbles.

Ohad’s father said his mother Keren, 54, and grandmother Ruth, 78, were all fine and healthy. But Ohad’s grandfather, 78-year-old Avraham Munder remained in captivity in Gaza.

The 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas fighters included sisters aged 2 and 4 and their mother, a 5-year-old girl and her mother, as well as elderly women. They were among around 240 people abducted by gunmen from the Islamist movement Hamas who rampaged through southern Israel on October 7.

As well as the Israeli hostages, 10 Thais and one Filipino, who were taken captive at the same time, were also freed under a separate agreement, Qatari mediators had said. After their release, the hostages underwent initial medical checks and were taken to be reunited with their families.

Israeli leaders have sworn to free the rest of the hostages as the military pursues an invasion of Gaza launched in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack, which killed around 1,200 people, according to an Israeli tally. The military campaign has killed around 14,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian medical authorities and reduced much of Gaza to rubble.