A day after her daughter was rescued from Hamas captivity, the mother of Israel Defense Forces soldier Pvt. Ori Megidish on Tuesday gave a statement to the press outside the family’s Kiryat Gat home.
“Dear people of Israel, we thank you all for your prayers and support. Our Ori has returned home, and now the prayers are with the rest of the kidnapped and the missing, and our hearts are with all the families,” said Margalit Megidish.
“Thank you, creator of the world. There is nothing besides you. Thank you, Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency]. Thank you, IDF and security forces. Thank you all,” she added.
מרגלית מגידיש, אימה של התצפיתנית ששוחררה, בתגובה ראשונה: "עכשיו התפילות עם שאר החטופים והנעדרים" pic.twitter.com/7nxdfapQ14
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 31, 2023
Megidish, who was freed by Israeli ground forces on Sunday, was kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization on Oct. 7.
Following a medical exam, she was reunited with her family.
Megidish was among 243 people taken hostage by Hamas during the terror group’s cross-border invasion, which left at least 1,400 people dead and thousands wounded.
She was freed by IDF special forces and Israel Security Agency agents, according to Israel’s Channel 13. Though other members of her unit were also taken hostage, Megidish is believed to have been held alone.
After the news broke of her return, celebrations broke out in her hometown of Kiryat Gat in southern Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the security services for their “important and exciting achievement,” which he said “expresses our commitment to the release of all the hostages.”
Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza creates the possibility to free the hostages, Netanyahu told the foreign press in Israel on Monday night.
“Hamas will not do it unless they’re under pressure,” he said.