‘We always had hope’: Scenes from the ground as Palestinians, Israelis return home

Heather Wright reports from Ashkelon, Israel, where a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold, despite military operations in the West Bank.

In a home on the outskirts of Ramallah, women wail as Amal Shujaieh walks in and hugs loved ones for the first time in seven months.

The 21-year-old university student was arrested in June for provocation and released early Monday morning as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

“So happy,” she says in English when asked what it feels like to be home but adds “we always had that hope that we’d come home to our families.”

It was the middle of the night when Shujaieh says she was arrested. She says her charges relate to being part of student government at Birzeit University and for criticizing the war in Gaza. She described prison as “difficult and overcrowded,” saying at times their blankets were confiscated and tear gas was used on prisoners.

The first 90 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails hours after Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari were freed from Gaza after being abducted by Hamas 15 months ago.

Images of the first three Israeli hostages to be freed during the initial phase of the truce show the women beaming with loved ones and sobbing in the arms of their parents. While officials say none requires urgent medical care, photos show Damari is missing two fingers after being shot by terrorists during the October 7 massacre.

In an interview with N12 News, the three women say they were only told they were being released hours before, adding “we couldn’t believe it when we were told we were about to go home.”

According to their testimonies, they were at times held in shelters for displaced people in Gaza but spent significant time in underground tunnels where they would go long stretches without any daylight. One of the women says she underwent a medical procedure without anesthesia and believed she would die in Gaza.

Over the course of the next six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released from Hamas captivity; roughly 1,900 Palestinian prisoners will be freed from Israeli jails.

Among the Palestinians released Monday was Dania Hanatsheh, the second time she has been freed from an Israeli jail in the last 14 months. She was let go in November 2023 as part of the brief ceasefire that saw more than 50 Israelis released from Gaza. She was arrested again last August and held for five months under “administrative detention” meaning she was never charged with a crime.

When asked if she’s worried she’ll be arrested again she says “of course I am. They can arrest you any time without any reason.”

‘They can have closure’

Most of the Palestinians released Monday were women and teenage boys, many being held on minor charges.

But the list of people set to be released over the course of this ceasefire include those convicted of terrorism and murder.

Among the murderers is one of the men who killed Yaya Ofer in 2013. The father was attacked by two men with iron bars and axes outside his home in the Jordan Valley.

His daughter Meytal Ofer says she has been expecting her father’s killers would be released in some sort of a deal since they day they were convicted more than a decade ago.

“I hope he gets released,” she says, adding she will never forgive him but knows it will allow the hostages to come home.

“I cannot hug my father anymore. I cannot feel his strong hug,” she told CTV News. But other people, “They could feel the hugs of their beloved, and they can bury the hostages that were murdered there. They can close their circle, and they can have closure.”

Ofer is part of the Parents Circle, a group of Israelis and Palestinians who share stories and experiences of tragedies and bereavement as a way to promote dialogue and peace.

“I joined this forum because I believe that no revenge will bring back my father and we need to see how we can talk each other.”

Ofer says Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 and subsequent war has made her “a bit hopeless” about the peace process but adds something must change.

“For more than 70 years, we tried war,” she says. “It didn’t work. We need a change. We need it not just because we want peace with Palestinians, but also if we want as an Israeli society to heal. We need to change the process.”