Follow Armstrong Williams as he travels to Israel to interview the recently released hostages.
day one:
We have officially arrived in Israel ahead of a momentous week, during which we will be interviewing the hostages, the families of the deceased hostages, the survivors of the Nova massacre on October 7, and visiting the border town and kibbutz where families were torn from their homes.
We landed at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and will make our way to Jerusalem, where we will prepare for the days ahead.
All around us, the people of Israel are as warm and welcoming as ever, waiting to greet their loved ones and welcome them back home. Even under the shadow of war, their spirits remain high. It truly is remarkable.
You would hardly know that this country and its people are in the midst of a major conflict. Even today, before we landed, Israel sent missiles toward Lebanon, targeting critical terror infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, yet you couldn’t tell from their spirits.
The views from above were breathtaking, and on the ground its people remain resilient, hopeful, and at peace.
LUCIEN KRIEF GALLERY
Interview with Lucien Krief owner of Lucien Krief Gallery. The oldest gallery in Jerusalem.
Yotam Haim mother.
On 15 December 2023, three Israeli hostages were killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the Battle of Shuja'iyya in the Gaza Strip. The men had emerged from a building and were approaching a group of IDF soldiers when they were shot dead, in spite of the fact that they were shirtless and visibly unarmed while waving a makeshift white flag and calling out for help in Hebrew.
The incident provoked widespread domestic and international criticism of the IDF and of the Israeli government's attempts to resolve the hostage crisis through war.[2] It also led to increased condemnation from abroad of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
The IDF acknowledged that the three hostages, who were kidnapped by Hamas during the 7 October attacks, had been killed after they were "mistakenly identified as a threat," prompting renewed protests in Israel against the incumbent Netanyahu-led government.
Nova music festival memorial - Re'im, Israel
Barak and his family miraculously survived the massacre in his community where 1 in 4 of its members were killed by Hamas.
From here, we can see Gaza, now in ruins, and the gate in which Hams entered and left with hostages, bodies, and suitcases of loot.
Join the journey
We will be adding content daily as Armstrong Williams travels throughout Israel speaking one-on-one with many of the recently released hostages, visiting important landmarks and talking to the everyday people of Israel.
