‘A magnificent time to be here,’ say South Africans in Israel

For South Africans, being in Israel when the hostages were released on Monday, 13 October, and on subsequent days has been nothing short of extraordinary – a mix of disbelief, joy, and a profound sense of unity.

“It’s been a surreal time because it’s so mixed with emotions,” said Raelene Tradonsky. “There’s been so much hope and optimism, yet trepidation. People didn’t believe they would see those hostages actually come out until they did.”

Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands gathered at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. “They were talking about up to 500 000 people,” Tradonsky said. “Even the night before, there were thousands, and this morning, it was insane, you couldn’t even get near from six o’clock.”

Daniel Sass, also at Hostage Square that morning, described the moment as history in the making. “There was a joy in the air unlike anything I’ve experienced since making aliya five years ago,” he said. “As Air Force One flew overhead and Donald Trump’s plane landed at Ben Gurion, the screens showed United Nations vehicles transporting the hostages out of Gaza. The air was thick with emotion. When the crowd began singing, ‘I’m coming home, tell the world I’m coming home’, people were crying and smiling at the same time. It was a deep, collectively joyful, true Am Yisrael Chai moment.”

For Skye Solomon, the atmosphere was charged with exhilaration and reverence. “There was obviously a lot of excitement, but also fear. People were saying, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’” she said. “For me, the lesson was to have emunah [faith], to believe even when it feels uncertain.”

She said that for the first time in many nights, the square felt completely unified. “Everyone was on the same page, holding conflicting emotions at once. The hostages were released one by one, and as their families’ voices came through on FaceTime, the crowd played songs of happiness like Habayta. Everyone was overjoyed but also heartbroken. They went from singing to videos paying tribute to fallen soldiers, including our South African Israel Defense Forces friend Daniel Perez. It showed how, as a nation, we hold so many emotions at once: hope, fear, pain, happiness, and still stand together.”

One image stayed with her long after leaving the square. “I saw a little boy, maybe two years old, sitting with his mom as she opened the daily newspaper filled with the faces of the hostages returning that day,” Solomon said. “She was teaching him their names, and I thought, what a powerful picture of love, faith, and the passing down of hope. It captured what makes the Jewish people so strong: family, community, and emunah.”

For Shevi Palay, who made aliya just two months ago, the experience was deeply personal. “We were at Hostage Square from 04:00 this morning,” she said. “We watched as the hostages were handed over to the Red Cross, and all 66 000 people there were cheering and crying.” Palay’s husband looked at her and said, “This is reminding me why we made aliya.”

What moved her most was the message echoing through the speakers: “When people ask what it means to be a nation, show them this day.”

“The vibe was hopeful, but uncertain,” Palay said. “Last week, there was davening with so many people. Today, there was clarity in the air.”

That same blend of emotion and disbelief was felt across the country. “The past few days, everybody was like, let’s not get too excited yet, it might not happen,” said Tanya Midzuk from Jerusalem. “And then today, there’s been a burst of energy. It’s just wonderful to be here during this time.”

She described moments of quiet celebration and connection. “There were pockets where people were standing and dancing, you could feel it,” she said. “I stopped at the makolet and started chatting to the guy working there. He was watching the news on a little TV behind the counter and you could feel how excited he was. I asked how he was doing, and he just smiled and said, ‘Everything in Israel is good.’ I love that statement. It’s so beautiful.”

For Dinah Mallett, also in Jerusalem, the atmosphere was one of relief and gratitude. “There’s a lot of emotion at the moment,” she said. “We’re more relieved than anything else that we can finally put this behind us and get our people back. There are definitely mixed emotions because, even though we’re getting our people back, we’re releasing not the greatest of people back to Gaza. But the atmosphere is amazing, peaceful, and complete. Everyone is so happy to have their family back. There’s unity, there’s family. It really is a beautiful atmosphere.”

Meanwhile, on the Tel Aviv beachfront, spontaneous celebrations erupted. “Someone started screaming, ‘Oh my G-d, look at the plane!’” Tradonsky said. “As we looked up, we realised it was Trump’s plane flying over the beachfront. The whole beach was covered in Israeli flags, and across the sand, they had written ‘Thank you’ in huge letters made from sheets of fabric.”

There were also moments of silent unity, shared tears, and unspoken understanding. “We were all standing there watching footage of the hostages being released on someone’s phone,” Tradonsky said. “People were speaking Hebrew, others French. We couldn’t understand each other’s words, but the only thing we had in common were these tears streaming down our faces.”

Across Israel, up until this point, reminders of the hostages were everywhere. “There’s almost not a single road in Israel without a poster or sign saying, ‘Bring them home!’” said Tradonsky. “Every bus stop, every streetlamp, people have done everything they can to make sure the hostages aren’t forgotten.”

In spite of the pain and uncertainty, hope remains the defining emotion. “It’s been a magnificent time to be here,” Tradonsky said. “Strangers hugging, sobbing together on the beach. Someone said, ‘We are all one heart’, and I really, really felt that.”

Palay echoed that sentiment. “Today felt like clarity,” she said. “Like the whole nation was breathing the same breath, crying, praying, celebrating, together.”