Itay and his sister Maya are reunited after being released from Hamas terrorist captivity separately
The siblings were kidnapped together from the Nova festival at Kibbutz Re’im
After Itay Regev was released from captivity in the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists on Wednesday, his family was finally reunited after 54 days of agony.
Itay and his sister Maya were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists while they attending the Re’im Nova festival on Oct. 7. They were taken into the Gaza Strip and kept there together for over 50 days.
When Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to free Israeli hostages, one of the conditions for Israel was not to separate families
However, the terrorists didn’t fulfill their obligation. They separated Itay from her sister Maya, who was released four days ago in one of the earlier hostage releases. Maya returned to Israel with a leg injury and was immediately taken to the hospital for treatment, where she underwent a difficult surgery.
“Maya Regev is recovering. She is after surgery, accompanied by our medical teams and embraced by her family members. We believe that she will recover completely as soon as possible,” Dr. Tzach Slutsky, deputy director of the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva, told Channel 12 news regarding Maya’s condition.
Before her Itay’s release on Wednesday night, his mother Mirit was asked by Israel's Ynet news whether Maya had mentioned her brother.
“A lot. It’s about the first thing she talked about when she came back from captivity," MIrit said.
"She says that she will not be able to recover mentally until he is home… I went into the surgery with her and a second before she fell asleep, she asked: ‘Mom, will he come back with me?’ I told her straight up, 'Yes' and I hope to keep my promise.”
Four days later, the promise was realized and Itay joined his sister in the hospital. His condition is good and he will reportedly be released soon.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.