As the events of October 7th unfolded, I know I was far from alone in feeling a growing sense of dread in addition to horror at the brutal assault carried out by Hamas in Israel. Dread at the larger geopolitical implications, dread at the enhanced danger to Jewish family and friends (though I greatly underestimated the venomous antisemitism the attacks would draw to the surface), and dread for the people who were taken hostage that day. 

We saw what they did to the people they killed. We saw the condition of some of the people they took with them. We'd heard of the vast system of underground tunnels running through Gaza. And we knew Israel would have little choice but to hit back hard. 

My instinctive reaction and assumption was that those hostages who were alive when they made it to Gaza wouldn't be for long. I shared that reaction on the Vic Porcelli Show the following Monday when they had me on as a guest to discuss the horrific attacks. 

On some level, I understood the sentiment expressed by Thomas Hand when he initially believed his then-eight-year-old daughter, Emily, had been killed in the attacks rather than taken hostage. His anguish over the sense that his little girl would be better off dead than in the hands of evil captors was gutwrenching. 

I couldn't bring myself to write about his story at the time. All I could do was weep with him at the thought of what had befallen his sweet child. 

And then came the stunning news, a month after the attack, that Emily was alive after all. But she was still in the hands of the terrorists who brutally massacred 130 of her neighbors. 

Over the course of the weeks they've spent in captivity, we've become familiar with the names of many of the hostages, though not all — we still don't even have a confirmed accounting of the total taken and still alive. 

Blessedly, since the temporary ceasefire went into effect, just shy of 100 of those taken on October 7 have been released by Hamas. 

• 24 were released on Friday, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals, and one Filipino
• 17 were released on Saturday, including 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals
• 17 were released on Sunday, including 14 Israelis and three Thai nationals
• 11 Israelis were released on Monday 
• 12 were released on Tuesday, including 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals 

A sixth group, reportedly of 10 Israelis and two Russians, is in the process of being transferred as I write this. 

In addition, two Israelis with Russian citizenship are expected to be released today, as a gesture from Hamas to Moscow.

— Lahav Harkov 🎗️ (@LahavHarkov) November 29, 2023

In addition, there were four Israeli hostages released early on: Yocheved Lifshitz, 85,  Nurit Cooper, 80, Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie, 17. 

Assuming the information regarding the sixth group is correct, that would bring the total released to 97. 

Two other Israelis are known to have died or been killed in captivity: 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss and 19-year-old soldier Noa Marciano. 

That still leaves well over 100 hostages in the hands of the terrorists. We know some of their faces well: 

Noa Argamani, the 26-year-old whose sheer terror was visible as she was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival, and whose dying mother is now begging for her return. 

Noa Argamani was violently kidnapped and taken to Gaza on video that Hamas posted to social media on October 7th. She was forcibly taken on a motorcycle screaming begging for her life. I beg for her release to see her dying mother 😿 https://t.co/QuEOo5WlyF pic.twitter.com/2rEvRadRyg

— ilyana Ben Chaim (@ilyanabenchaim) November 29, 2023

Shiri, 34, Ariel, 4, and K'fir (10 months old) Bibas.

The family of Ariel and Kfir, the 10-months-old baby held by Hamas were informed that Hamas refused to release them today and they will stay in captivity.

Hamas is a sick and psychotic terror group, that’s what they do. pic.twitter.com/E2cAKEEFf2

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) November 27, 2023

Others remain unnamed and unknown to most of the world, though surely their loved ones are crying out for them. 

And even those who have returned will forever bear the scars of what was done to them and their loved ones. But amid the horror of October 7 — and every day since — I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the blessing of those returned and how grateful I am that I was wrong.