Avihai Brodutch's wife and three children were taken hostage by Hamas during the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. They were later freed after 51 days in captivity.

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Israel and Iran have agreed a ceasefire after a twelve day conflict. Meanwhile, Israel strikes in Gaza continue with the humanitarian crisis deepening.

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Preparations are underway for a significant exchange between Israel and Hamas, involving the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Ahavi Brodich, whose wife and three children were held hostage for 51 days before their release, described the widespread relief and anticipation in Israel as more hostages are expected to return.

Brodich, now an advocate for other hostage families, criticized the Israeli government's handling of the crisis, citing delays that resulted in loss of life. He credited international pressure, particularly from former U.S. President Donald Trump, for advancing the negotiations. Brodich emphasized the ongoing challenges faced by released hostages and their families, but expressed hope that the upcoming releases would mark the beginning of national healing.

'We're thrilled' says father and husband of freed hostages

Preparations are underway now for Hamas to return Israeli hostages. Israel is preparing to release 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of that exchange. The deadline officially expires at noon local time tomorrow. That's 5 a.m. Eastern. We are expecting it to happen, though, 48 Israeli hostages, 20 of whom, Israel says, are still alive, are expected to be released by that deadline. The remains of other hostages may take much longer, Hamas has said. Israeli hospitals are ready to receive those who are alive, and the families are anxiously waiting, obviously, to reunite with their loved ones after an unthinkable ordeal. My next guest is Ahavi Brodich. His wife and three young children were kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza after the October 7 attacks. They were released in November 2023, after being held hostage for 51 days. He's since been an advocate for the hostages, some of whom are his friends, pushing for the Israeli government to do more. Ahavi Brodich joins me this morning. Nice to see you. It's good to be here. Thanks for having me. How are you feeling? You personally lived through months of not knowing about your wife and children and whether they would come home, and they were, they did come home. How are you feeling watching this unfold in the coming hours? Well, you know, we've been waiting for this for so long, over two years. We're thrilled. You know, I think the whole country is thrilled. Wherever you go, you can feel it. You can feel it in the air. You know, I work in a hospital. I'm a nurse. So actually, my, we're supposed to get some of the hostages to our hospital, to Schneider Hospital in Petah Tikva. So everybody's thrilled all around me, wherever I go. And, you know, people are always talking to me and asking me how I'm feeling about this. You know, people around me know who I am, what I've been through and what my family's been through. And I have to say, we, you know, ever since Trump began his role in this, we were all very optimistic. And you know, tomorrow we're going to get it. We're going to see the fruits of everything that he's done. You, as you say, like you become known not just for your family story, but you've also become very outspoken about the Israeli government's actions and response. And you kept the pressure or tried to keep the pressure on the government to get this, to get to this point. Tell me what, where you think there was a failure, I guess, by the Israeli government and that meant that you had to wait this long. You know, I think they never got their priorities straight. I'm sad to say this. I think the most important thing from the first day was to get the hostages back. We've lost some lives because of all this time that has passed. We know 42, at least 42 hostages that were taken alive and that some of them returned dead and in coffins and some of them are still there. We're waiting for their return. But we know that they were taken alive and they died or were killed in in Gaza while in captivity. And it's a horrible thing to know. And this is what these two years have cost us. And do you think you mentioned President Trump there, is that what you think made the difference or where do you think the difference came from? Definitely, you know, I think President Trump, he knew what the right thing to do was, and that's to get the hostages back. He always he always talked about the hostages. He met a lot of hostage families and I think he did all he could to put pressure on Bibi Netanyahu and the Israeli government to do the right thing and to get the hostages back to to strike a deal. And I think he's he's the one to thank. And he's the biggest story in this. It's President Trump. And we really hope he keeps on going, you know, so we can have a lasting peace. There's been obviously such a big impact on your family. They were held, I think, for 51 days. Right. How are they doing? How are they doing? Well, you know, we're in Shfaim, we've been here, you know, almost ever since they got back, we were moved a little bit into different homes, but then we settled over here. It's a kibbutz in the center of Israel. Obviously, Kfar Azar is where, you know, the Hamas came and massacred us. That's in the north-south. So we have a new life here. So we have a new life here, you know, they have a new school and new friends and I have a new job. And, you know, it's pretty hard, you know, to begin a new life, especially under these circumstances, especially now, you know, it's, you know, I don't know how to call it, but it's anniversary or whatever word we have, a memorial. Every day, there's a different, we go to a different memorial ceremony for one of our friends that was killed on that day. So it's very difficult, especially on these days, but we got such good news, you know, so we have to say we're thrilled and everybody's thrilled. My whole family, you know, are waiting for Gali and Zevi from Kfar Azar, who have been there being held hostages for over two years and they're going to come back tomorrow. So we have to say, even though, you know, we've been lived through this horror, I hope, you know, it's going to be the beginning of the end of this tomorrow. You, as you say, it's been hard for your family and the people, you know, who are going to be released have been held for more than two years. Given, you know, you're a nurse, you've been working on this issue. How concerned are you for their release and how difficult that might be for them to get back to some sort of normal life? You know, it's going to be very difficult, but I know that everybody's going to give them everything that they need. You know, everybody in Israel is so thrilled. It's people are crying. You know, people see me and they start crying. So, you know, we've been waiting for this for so long. They're going to get all the support that anybody ever can give them. I think, you know, we remain united these two years and we're going to be even more united under, you know, when they come back, everybody is just going to give them everything they need. It's going to be really hard. We don't know what situation they're going to come back. We know they were starved. We know they were abused. We know in horrible ways. But, you know, they survived. Those that survived are going to get everything they can. And we know it's going to take time to heal, but we're going to heal. We're going to heal as a nation. And we need those hostages back to start healing as a nation. So it's a great, great thing. Avi Haiprodich, thank you so much for speaking with me this morning. I appreciate it. Great. Thanks for having me.

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'We're thrilled' says father and husband of freed hostages

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