Among 13 Israelis released from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Saturday were six members from the same family. The members are Shoshan Haran, 67, her daughter Adi Shoham, 38, and Adi’s children Yahel, 3, and Naveh, 8, along with Noam Avigdori, 12, and her mother Sharon Avigdori, 52, who were all abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7.
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However, a Seventh family member, Tal Shoham, remains in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Aviv Baron, a close family member of the released captives, expressed his emotions to Ynet, saying, "We saw our family members on television before they arrived at the hospital, filled with great joy." He continued, "However, we also do not forget the fact that Tal Shoham from our family remains behind, along with about 200 other Israelis."
Aviv Baron, the editor of the Shabbat supplement in Yedioth Ahronoth, stated that the family intends to work towards the release of the remaining captives in the Gaza Strip. "Just as we have been committed to the struggle for their return until today, we will continue to do so from tomorrow morning, after we will be done with the hugs and greetings of our family. Like the other families who have been with us from the beginning, we will stand by them until all the captives return."
He recounted the story of his sister, Shoshan Haran, a 67-year-old woman who was abducted along with her daughter and two granddaughters: "Shoshan is a strong woman, we all know that. She looks relatively well. I'm sure she stood impressively during these days, caring for all the family members there. She is returning to a not easy reality, but as much as I've known her in the last 64 years, I completely trust that she will know how to continue managing her life. One cannot be the same after such an experience, but it's the closest to what it was."
Sharon Avigdor, a 52-year-old from Hod Hasharon, was abducted with her daughter Noam, 12. They had come for the weekend to Be'eri with Sharon's family, an emotional caregiver specializing in children on the autism spectrum, and were abducted with seven other family members. Some of the family members, including Avshalom Hiran - Sharon's brother - were murdered.
The father Chen Avigdori, was one of the leaders of the families' struggle for the release of the captives. On Friday, after the release of the 13 captives in the first batch, he wrote: "The images, and especially the reactions to them, filled me with hope. There's a plan. It's working. Every captive who returns is a victory. A victory for all of us. For the people of Israel. For the State of Israel. Therefore - we must not stop."