A particularly touching meeting took place on Monday at Israel’s Schneider Children’s Medical Center when Oria, Yuval and Ofry Brodutch, who were released from captivity in Gaza after 50 days, reunited with their dog, Rondi.
The family members knew that nothing would bring the children more joy, and made sure to bring Rondi to the hospital room.
For 50 days, since his family was kidnapped, Avichai Brodutch barely slept. He engaged in a public and media struggle to save his wife and children, who were kidnapped along with 4-year-old Avigail Idan, their neighbor, who hid with them in their safe room after her parents were murdered.
On the morning of the attack, Avichai heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw Avigail covered in blood. The blood belonged to her father, Roi Idan, a good friend of Avichai’s. He brought her into the safe room to be with his wife Hagar and three children, while he went to help other residents. Avigail and his family were ultimately kidnapped and taken to Gaza. They were returned on Sunday as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday released a series of pictures from the previous night showing freed children reuniting with family members, including of Eitan Yahalomi, 12, embracing his mother after jumping out of an IDF helicopter.
