'We were not sure how this was going to end,' says freed hostage's niece

(JNS) - "We did it," Efrat Machikawa, the niece of redeemed hostage Gadi Mozes, told JNS on Sunday.

Mozes, 80, was among the three Israelis and five Thais redeemed from terrorist captivity as part of Hamas's truce with Jerusalem, 482 days after they were abducted during the terror group's Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

Machikawa was reunited with Mozes on Friday.

"It's such a relief. It's quite amazing. It feels like my body was all tense, slowly it's allowing itself to calm down. It's a very special feeling," Machikawa told JNS. "This reunion with loved ones, I don't think people who have not gone t...