Israel Defense Forces observer Liri Albag marked her 20th birthday on Tuesday at Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, 10 days after being released from captivity by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
“Today, I get to celebrate my 20th birthday with my loved ones,” Albag wrote on Instagram.
She shared a picture of four cakes. “The only wish I asked for is the return of all the hostages.”
Albag attended a concert in the lobby of the the Petach Tikvah hospital on Tuesday with the four other IDF troops with whom she was abducted on Oct. 7—Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Agam Berger—per the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
The orchestra, which visited to honor the ex-hostages, reportedly played “Happy Birthday” for Albag.
Albag posted on social media on Friday for the first time since her release, thanking the people of Israel and the security forces for her freedom.
“Together, we are a force. I want to thank the soldiers of the IDF and the security services, who risked their lives and fought for us and for our country,” she wrote. “Not a morning passes that I don’t pray for their welfare.”
Addressing the families of slain IDF soldiers and murdered civilians, Albag said she felt their pain.
“Thanks to the heroes who fell during battle, my nightmare is over,” she wrote. “I was finally reunited with my family.”
“Our struggle is not over, and I will not stop fighting until everyone is home,” she added.
Albag’s family emphasized that while she and the other female IDF hostages experienced “insane things that are hard to tell everything about” during their 15 months in Hamas captivity, they do not want to speak in a way that could jeopardize the wellbeing of dozens of hostages who remain in Gaza.
“Dad, there are 2 million terrorists there, make no mistake. I sat with children aged 8 and 4 who were cursing ‘the Jews,’” Albag reportedly told her father after being released as part of the truce deal.