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Israeli-Palestinian Prisoners Exchange: Arbel Yehoud could hardly contain her emotions as she saw Ariel Cunio again. After more than two years of terror, separation and relentless worry, the couple finally embraced on Monday. Both had been held hostage during the Hamas-led attacks on Kibbutz Nir-Oz on October 7, 2023, and their reunion was the culmination of years filled with hope and anxiety.

“My Ariel is home again, and I am overwhelmed with emotion and joy. For over two years, the hope of holding Ariel again is what sustained and drove me every single day,” Yehoud said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.

Cunio, 28, was one of four remaining hostages from Nir-Oz to be freed. He had been taken along with his brother David and his girlfriend, Arbel. David was released alongside him on Monday. David’s wife, Sharon, and their three-year-old twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, ​​had already returned home in a ceasefire agreement in November 2023.

Nir-Oz, a small agricultural community near the Gaza border, endured unimaginable tragedy. Over a quarter of its 400 residents were either killed or taken away by Hamas during the October attacks, leaving families shattered and the community scarred. But even amid such devastation, hope never vanished.

Yehoud, 29, had been released earlier in January as part of a second ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Reflecting on her ordeal, she said, “We must not relent until the last hostage comes home. Only then can we heal as a society and as a people.”

Love Survives War

Avinatan Or returned to the arms of his parents, Yaron and Ditsa, at the Rei’m military facility in southern Israel. Footage released by the Israeli military showed Or crying and hugging his parents tightly and expressing relief and gratitude after his long ordeal.

“How much I hoped I would get the chance to tell you that I love you and to see you one more time in this life,” said the 29-year-old, who was freed by Hamas on Monday.

Or also reunited with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, who had been captured with him during the Nova music festival attacks on October 7, 2023. Widely circulated footage of her abduction had shown her being Lifted onto the back of a motorcycle as Or was forced to walk behind the captors with his hands restrained.

Argamani was rescued in June 2024 through an Israeli military operation in central Gaza. Despite months of separation and fear, the bond between them had remained unbroken.

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Two years of terror, uncertainty and longing came to an emotional climax as these couples finally reunited. Arbel and Ariel and Avinatan and Noa returned to their families with tears in their eyes and hearts full of relief. Their stories serve as a reminder that even in the darkest moments, love and hope can endure, survive and ultimately triumph.