The Release of the Hostages is also the Resurrection of Hope

The first seven were handed over to the Red Cross in northern Gaza a few minutes after 7 a.m., while the other thirteen were released just before 10 a.m. Italian time. Television footage shows that all the hostages appear to be in good health. Twenty hostages were exchanged for 1,966 Palestinian prisoners.

"I am following the live television coverage of the stages of the release,” said the Vicar, who leads seven Hebrew-speaking Catholic communities in Israel, told SIR, "and I am particularly excited to see Alon Ohel, now 24 years old, kidnapped on 7 October at the Nova Festival. I was in contact with the parents of this young man, who for me was the face of all the hostages. I happened to meet his father, mother, and sister: they are not Christians, yet we are spiritually close. Our communities have prayed a lot during this time for all the hostages, so that they would return to their families and their homes". "Looking at what is happening today," adds Father Zelazko, "I truly believe that peace, perhaps, is possible. Or at least that a first step has been taken. After two years of stagnation marked only by escalating violence, today an important signal finally arrives, which makes us say that hope is not dead but resurrected. We are part of Israeli society, we feel involved, we pray for peace and we will continue to do so."

The Vicar remains realistic, noting: "Now it is up to the international community to ensure that Israel and Hamas apply this agreement to the end. In this regard, the guarantees of the United States, Qatar, Arab countries and Turkey will be important. Many times - he recalls - we were close to some agreement, and then everything vanished into thin air. Now the presence of so many states and so many heads of countries only strengthens our hope".

In the coming days, Father Zelazko reveals, "I will try to hear from Alon's family to make them feel all our closeness and affection. It is right that they are now reunited with their child and can enjoy this moment. We are happy for them and for all the freed hostages. As I said at the beginning, today is the resurrection of hope."

The Vicar dedicates a last thought to all the hostages who died during detention: "Let us pray for them and for their families: may the Lord console them and give them strength and peace."

This article, originally published in Italian, appeared on the website of the SIR Agency.