The five female Israel Defense Forces soldiers who were recently freed by Hamas after 15-months in captivity were treated to a concert at the hospital where they have been recovering.
Naama Levy, 20; Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Agam Berger, 19; and Liri Albag, 20; were serenaded by a live orchestra at the Beilinson Hospital, in Petah Tikva, on Tuesday.
The women could be seen enjoying the music from the hospital’s upper floor as the orchestra played Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” as well as “Happy Birthday” to celebrate Albag’s 20th birthday.
The former hostages also flashed heart signs at the orchestra playing below and held each other close as their families also watched on beside them.
The concert was put together by the Lu Yihi group, an Israeli volunteer mental health organization that helps provide relief to people traumatized by war, the Times of Israel reported.
All five soldiers were abducted by Hamas during the brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attack, with the militants storming the Nahal Oz base where the women were stationed.
Hamas released propaganda video of the soldiers tied up, injured and surrounded by the blood and bodies of their comrades inside the base, with the terrorists threatening sexual violence against them.
Levy, Ariev, Gilboa and Albag were freed together last month in the second hostage exchange of the current cease-fire deal, with Berger freed the following week along with two other Israelis.
The soldiers are set to be discharged from the Beilinson Hospital on Wednesday, with all five opting to go directly home with their families, the Kan public broadcaster reported.
Since the start of last month’s cease-fire deal, 13 Israeli and an additional five Thai hostages have been freed from captivity, including Israeli-American Keith Siegel.
Another 20 Israelis are slated to be freed in the coming weeks as part of the first phase of the deal. Eight of the 20 hostages are believed to be dead, according to Israeli officials.
