ATLANTA — Leaders in Jewish and Palestinian communities spoke with mixed emotions Monday as hostages were released by Israel and Hamas following two years of conflict in Gaza.
In a significant development, 20 Israeli hostages have been reunited with their families after 738 days, following a historic deal between Israel and Hamas.
The agreement, which also includes a ceasefire, saw Israel release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.
“For the past two years, I’ve been weeping tears of sorrow, and today, when I rolled over and looked at my phone and saw the videos and pictures of the hostages, the Israeli hostages, being returned to the State of Israel and to their families. I was finally weeping tears of joy,” said Dov Wilker of the American Jewish Committee.
Renee Kutner, CEO and President of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, called it a historic day.
“I’m overcome with emotion. We as a community have been for two years praying and advocating and hoping,” Kutner said.
“Honestly, I’m feeling just like every other Palestinian probably would tell you, whoever you’ve interviewed, we do have hope, and we don’t want to lose hope,” said Hamza Arman, a Palestinian American artist.
Nidal Ibrahim, former Executive Director of the Arab-American Institute, called it a relief to know bombs have stopped falling on innocent people in Gaza.
“As people are going back, they’re finding that their homes are utterly destroyed. So there’s other devastation, hospitals, churches, schools, mosques, everything is gone.”
The Jewish community in Metro Atlanta is celebrating the return of the hostages, with scenes of relief and reunion being described as powerful and emotional.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
