Son of 75-year-old British hostage released from Gaza: ‘I’m over the moon’
Ada Saga, a peace activist who speaks fluent Arabic, was part of a community which fought for good relationships with their Arab neighbours.
75-year-old Israeli-British woman, Ada Sagi, was among the 12 hostages released from Gaza on Tuesday, after being kept in Hamas captivity for 53 days.
Ada’s son, Noam, told BBC prior to her release that he couldn’t wait to give her the biggest hug possible.
“It really is a beautiful, amazing moment. It’s such a huge relief. I’ve just finished a video call with her. She’s sharp, she’s funny, she’s witty. She’s her own self. I’m over the moon. I just want to feel her and hug her and I want her to know how hard we fought to get to this day and she will know forever how loved she is,” he said in an interview with BBC.
Hostage release from Gaza is turning into a circus, with huge crowds of Palestinian civilians cheering for Hamas and Islamic Jihad as they parade the hostages pic.twitter.com/Sw03KLFKCz
— Jotam Confino (@mrconfino) November 29, 2023
Ada was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 from kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border, after the terror group rampaged the community, executing civilians and burning down homes.
Ada, a peace activist who spoke fluent Arabic, was part of a community which fought all their lives for good relationship with their Arab neighbours.
Noam said that the joy of getting his mother back was also mixed with anxiety over the news he was going to tell her: “She doesn’t know she doesn’t have a home to go back to, she doesn’t know so many of her friends were murdered. We will have to pick up the puzzle and put everything in place… but for now, today, it’s really just about the joy.”
According to BBC, Ada was planning to visit London for her 75th birthday the week after she was taken hostage by Hamas.
Noam had previously told BBC how uncertainty over the wellbeing of his mother and the other hostages amounted to “psychological terror.”
“Every night waiting like a leaf for a list.. Are we in? Are we out? It’s been excruciatingly painful,” he said, describing it as “Russian roulette to the heart,” he said.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
