75-Year-Old Mother of British-Israeli Man Freed From Hamas Captivity

Noam Sagi, whose mother, Ada Sagi, was taken hostage by Hamas addresses protesters outside the London offices of the Red Cross, on Nov. 9, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images

The 75-year-old woman Ada Sagi, who was taken hostage by Hamas, has been freed from captivity, her British-Israeli son has said.

Noam Sagi’s mother was taken from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, after Hamas launched an attack on Israel.

Having spent 53 days in captivity, what the elderly woman “went through physically and emotionally was extraordinary,” her son said in a BBC interview.

Ms. Sagi was among the 12 hostages, released by Hamas on Tuesday in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

This marked the fifth day of the fragile ceasefire between Tel Aviv and Hamas, which is expected to expire after one more exchange on Wednesday night.

Speaking about being reunited with his mother, the London-based psychotherapist, Mr. Sagi, said it “was a very long night of holding hands, sitting with the kids and the grandkids, and reconnecting.”

Asked whether his mother was well, Mr. Sagi said that while in captivity, she lost control of everything and was only now regaining her agency and control over her life.

Ms. Sagi was widowed a year ago and “was still grieving” at the time of the attack, her son said.

“She is an amazingly strong woman. We knew that before. She was so positive, and she was worried about us as we imagined,” he added.

Hamas and other terrorists are still holding about 160 hostages out of the 240 seized in their Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. The conflict saw thousands killed and injured in both Israel and Gaza, since its onset.

The much-anticipated ceasefire, brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States last week, allowed for coordinated hostage releases. It also enabled humanitarian actors, primarily the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies and U.N. agencies, to deliver assistance into and across  Gaza.

The U.N. reported that the pause in fighting allowed aid distribution in areas south of Wadi Gaza, where the bulk of an estimated 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently staying.

Ms. Sagi’s release on Tuesday brought the number of freed Israelis to 60. An additional 21 hostages, including Thai, Filipino and Russian-Israeli, have been released since the truce began.

Speaking of the hostage exchange last week, Foreign Secretary David Cameron said it brought “huge relief.”

“My thoughts are with all of those families who have been going through unimaginable trauma, especially those still waiting for their loved ones to come home,” Lord Cameron said in a post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr. Sagi called on international agencies and governments to “do whatever it takes” to free hostages taken from Israel.

“For many families, including friends and neighbours, the tragedy is ongoing as long as their family members remain hostage, and the traumas they have suffered will leave scars that might never heal. Enough with the games and enough with the psychological torture. Bring them home. Bring them all home, and do it now,” he said in a statement.

Tel Aviv said it plans to resume the war with “full force” to destroy Hamas once it’s clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal.

The U.N., however is in favour of a “full humanitarian ceasefire,” with the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for an immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages.

A full ceasefire will benefit “the people of Gaza, Israel and the wider region,” the secretary-general’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

The fragile ceasefire was violated on Tuesday, after an exchange of fire between Israeli troops and Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza. Each side blamed the other for the outbreak, but no further violence followed, and the hostage swap went ahead.

PA contributed to this report.