After 738 Days, All Living Hostages Freed

Shalom in His grace.

After 738 days of unimaginable darkness, the horror for 20 precious souls and their families is finally over. We thank God for their release and commit to praying for their healing—a journey that will be long and difficult.

Let me list the names and just a quick word about each of the hostages so that if you want to pray for them, you can pray by name with some information. You might even want to pass this along to your home group or your church to pray that God will bring physical, emotional, and even spiritual healing to these precious and now former hostages.

• Elkana Bohbot, 36—Captured from the Nova music festival where he worked for a production company. He dreamed of opening an ice cream shop at Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market.
• Rom Braslavski, 21—A young soldier on leave who worked security at the Nova festival. He spent hours helping others escape before being captured, despite being shot in both arms.
• Yosef Chaim Ohana, 24—A talented jazz guitarist and bartender from Ramle, captured from Nova after helping others escape and carrying wounded on stretchers.
• Segev Kalfon, 27—Taken from the Nova festival where he was working. He had been dealing with PTSD from a previous accident and was the family breadwinner.
• Eitan Horn, 39—An educator from Argentina who worked with youth, captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz while visiting his brother for the holiday.
• Avinatan Or, 32—A computer engineer from Tel Aviv, kidnapped from Nova alongside his partner Noa. Viral footage showed them being forcibly separated.
• Maxim Herkin, 35—Originally from Ukraine, captured from Nova. He has a three-year-old daughter in Russia whom he had just visited before the festival.
• Evyatar David, 24—A café manager from Kfar Sava, captured from Nova with his childhood best friend. He had been planning trips to Thailand and Japan.
• Bar Kupershtein, 23—His family’s primary breadwinner who worked security at Nova. He stayed to help others escape rather than fleeing to safety.
• Ariel Cunio, 29—A software tester captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his brother David. His partner Arbel was released earlier and has been waiting for his return.
• David Cunio, 35—Ariel’s brother, an electrical technician and actor from Nir Oz. His wife Sharon and twin daughters Emma and Yuli were released earlier.
• Matan Zangauker, 25—Captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz where he worked in the medical cannabis greenhouses. His mother Einav became a leading voice for the hostages.
• Nimrod Cohen, 21—A young soldier captured when his tank malfunctioned near Gaza. He loves nature, hiking, and solving Rubik’s cubes. He has a twin sister, Romi.
• Ziv and Gali Berman, 28—Twin brothers from Kibbutz Kfar Aza who ran a lighting company together. Both were captured from their homes on the kibbutz.
• Matan Angrest, 22—A devoted soccer fan and soldier, captured from his tank at the Nahal Oz military base near Gaza.
• Eitan Mor, 25—A barista who dreamed of opening his own café, captured while working security at the Nova festival. He is the oldest of eight children.
• Omri Miran, 48—The oldest of the living hostages, a shiatsu therapist, and landscaper from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Father of two young daughters, Roni and Alma.
• Alon Ohel, 24—A gifted pianist from Lavon who was planning to study music. Captured from the Nova festival after fleeing to a shelter at the Re’im junction.
• Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24—A computer programmer and student of Japanese culture, captured from Nova with his childhood friend Evyatar. He was planning his first trip to Japan.

Today is what we call in Hebrew Simchat Torah—“the Joy of the Law,” which in Israel is traditionally viewed as the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. It was on this day, two years ago, that the tragic events of October 7, 2023, took place.

So this makes today particularly poignant as we rejoice before God for the release of these precious hostages and pray for the unfolding of the peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.

I remember the horror of that morning, which began at 6:35 a.m. Israel time when we first heard reports of the attacks in Israel among the communities situated along the Gaza border. The attacks quickly expanded to the Nova music festival and other cities. We then began hearing about the murder and kidnapping that led to over 1,200 Israel perishing and 250 innocent victims being dragged into the terror tunnels of Gaza.

It is a day that I will never forget as a Jewish person, and especially as a Messianic Jew, who believes the word of God with all my heart and His promises to Israel. So many Israelis were so disappointed in the inability of the Israeli army to put a stop to this unfolding tragedy. But like the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the enemies of Israel chose a holiday when they knew Israelis would not be at work and more easily taken by surprise.

Along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu I am grateful for the efforts and support of US President Trump, Steve Witkoff, and others who worked tirelessly to bring the hostages home and to end the war with Gaza.

I cannot but be reminded of the words of the great prophet Isaiah in chapter 2 of the future He has predicted for the nation of Israel and for all the peoples of the earth. Why don’t you make this your prayer today? Of course, we know that this will not fully happen until Jesus returns, but we have hope knowing that this is the kind of world God will ultimately create.

We must be people of faith and remember that we are moving forward each day towards His ideal for our broken world. This gives us and others hope! And it is heartwarming and encouraging to remember that one day there will be no more war and that one day the Messiah will reign on His rightful throne.

As Isaiah wrote,

And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:3–5).

I want to thank you on behalf of our Israel staff in praying for the release of the hostages and for their well-being and safety. Thankfully, even though a number of our staff have served in the Israel Defense Forces and have been in harm’s way, they are healthy and able to see this day of rejoicing.

As you probably know, an Iranian missile struck our new center during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June. Our greater Tel Aviv Messianic Center had just been dedicated days before. We consider it a privilege to suffer along with our people in Israel and believe that the rebuilding of the center will take about a year, but nothing will stop it from being rebuilt. And, thanks be to God, our ministry continues because we kept the rental facility across the street and will continue to use it for all of our many activities and outreach opportunities during these days.

As the president of Chosen People Ministries, I’m so grateful for you—for your prayers, for your love for the Jewish people, and for standing with us as we bring the message of the Prince of Peace to the Jewish people who need Him so desperately in these days.

In the love of the Messiah,

Mitch (Psalm 122:6)

President of Chosen People Ministries