0:00
Certainly a very festive atmosphere
0:01
Since last night, people have been filling into this square here behind me
0:06
hostage square. Earlier today, there were tens of thousands of people here
0:11
You can see there is that countdown over in the corner that's been marking 737 days
0:17
It's still going because there are still the bodies of some of these hostages in Gaza
0:24
So that clock will continue to go. But we've been hearing musical acts on stage, just a very festive atmosphere, different bands singing, people celebrating
0:34
And actually, just a few moments ago, there was a helicopter that flew overhead
0:39
There's been helicopters all day long flying just over here, over the top of Hostage Square
0:45
We were told that on one case, there were two hostages in the helicopter
0:49
and they asked the pilot to go around again so that they could see the crowd, so that they could greet the Israeli people
0:56
after all of those nearly two years in Gaza. I feel now not to be under threat of constant bombardment
1:06
and not having to run to shelters constantly. Presumably that has changed literally overnight
1:14
It has. There's a feeling, I guess, a cautious optimism amongst Israelis that I've spoken with
1:20
who said they're just beginning to feel, I guess, a glimmer of hope that this could be a lasting piece And in the buildings around the square you can see damage You can see boarded up windows for example over there from where earlier there were these Iranian missile
1:36
strikes that we remember that happened over the summer. So there is still that memory of various
1:41
wars that have plagued Israel. But in the case of Gaza, there is, like I said, this cautious
1:47
optimism that they can take for once the first sigh of relief. For many people, this terror attack
1:53
has really lasted since October the 7th. Every day they've had to relive it
1:57
and now they can finally take that sigh of relief, knowing that these hostages are now home
2:04
Mixed emotions, relief, yes, celebration, yes, musical acts, as you've been describing
2:10
But, of course, there's been such loss that Israel has suffered. There are, of course, those hostage bodies that you're talking about
2:18
people who've been killed by Hamas, either in captivity or even people who were killed on October the 7th
2:25
and their bodies gruesomely dragged in to Gaza. I mean, that must hang heavy over all of this
2:33
Certainly, and that was something interesting about today is that while people were very elated
2:38
and they were celebrating, also at certain moments on this screen here behind me
2:43
for example, you can see the faces of hostages and they would show these initial images
2:49
of the hostages reuniting with their families. And people had tears running down their faces
2:55
They were hugging one another. So it was certainly a roller coaster of emotions
