In a touching tribute, Israeli Olympic artistic swimming athletes offered a heartfelt gesture for the return of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. The Olympic duet pair, Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nasi, along with Eden Blecher, used their bodies to form in the water the symbol of the call to bring the hostages home from Gaza. These poignant images were photographed at the national pool at the Wingate Institute.
Following the tribute, the swimmers spoke about their concern for the hostages. "Like all Israelis, we are eagerly awaiting the return of the hostages. This situation is unbearable and must never become normal. We must do everything in our power to bring them back home. We want to show our support for the families of the hostages and hope for better days ahead," they said in a statement.
Six months ago, about six weeks after the horrifying terrorist attack on the communities bordering the Gaza Strip on October 7, 10 team swimmers performed a tribute with the message "Bring them home now." At the time they stated: "Like the entire nation, we too are waiting and hoping for the swift return of all the hostages. We decided to create this gesture to raise awareness of the crimes against humanity committed against Israelis and citizens of many countries."
Representing Israel in the artistic swimming team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, 22-year-old Shelly Bobritsky and 20-year-old Ariel Nasi achieved fourth place in last year's World Championship in the free duet routine. In the most recent championship held in February, they met the coveted criteria for the Olympics set to take place this summer in Paris.