{"id":15298,"date":"2025-02-17T14:30:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rega.news\/?p=15298"},"modified":"2025-02-17T14:30:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:30:38","slug":"freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Freed Hostage Ohad Ben Ami: “We Knew the IDF Was Searching for Us\u2014That Gave Us Strength”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ohad Ben Ami, recently freed from Hamas captivity, shared an emotional account of his ordeal today (Monday) during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. He recounted that knowing the IDF was making every effort to locate and rescue him gave him the strength to endure. “We saw the dedication of the soldiers and understood that they were doing everything possible to bring us home,“<\/em> Ben Ami said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his captivity, Ben Ami described the unyielding hope that sustained him. “We were 30 meters underground, but we always knew the IDF was searching for us\u2014and that gave us strength. We saw the devotion of the soldiers, and we understood that they were doing everything in their power to bring us home. They were there for us\u2014now, we need to be there for them and continue the fight.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ohad Ben Ami with Israel’s President | Photo: Kobi Gideon\/GPO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Every Second in Captivity Feels Like an Eternity”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ben Ami shared the horrors of captivity. “We lived in a six-square-meter space, under unliveable conditions. I made it out\u2014but they are still there. You cannot rest for even a single moment\u2014every second there feels like an eternity. I hope that the decision-makers in Israel will continue to act with the same urgency as they have been so that all phases will be carried out simultaneously and as quickly as possible. Every additional day in captivity is a nightmare\u2014people are counting every second and every minute, not just the days.”<\/p>\n

Addressing IDF soldiers and security forces, Ben Ami relayed an emotional message. “We came here with a sense of mission, but also with pain. Families have lost their loved ones\u2014regular soldiers, reservists\u2014and we were aware of the scale of the loss and the immense suffering. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to every soldier and security officer who fights day and night to bring everyone home.“<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Ohad Ben Ami – first meeting with his family | Photo: IDF Spokesperson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The People of Israel Are United\u2014We Must Keep up the Pressure”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ben Ami concluded with a powerful call to action, urging the Israeli public to persist in the fight for the release of the remaining hostages. “The moment we knew they were fighting for us\u2014it strengthened us. And when we are united as the people of Israel, as the Jewish people\u2014that is our ultimate strength. We must continue pressing forward, never forgetting anyone\u2014until we bring everyone home!”<\/p>\n

“I turn to the Israeli government and to my dear, beloved people of Israel\u2014this is day 500. Keep going, go out, fight! No one can sit at home watching TV and hope that someone else will do the work\u2014we must all step up and take action!”<\/p>\n

Ben Ami ended his emotional speech with a firm declaration: “Our victory will be when the deal moves to the second and third phases\u2014until every hostage returns home safely. Until then\u2014we will not rest, and we will not stop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former hostage Ohad Ben Ami recounted that knowing IDF soldiers were making every effort to locate him gave him strength during his captivity: “We saw the soldiers’ dedication and understood that they were doing everything possible to bring us home.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":15302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1812,1705,2930],"class_list":["post-15298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-isaac-herzog","tag-israeli-hostages","tag-ohad-ben-ami"],"yoast_head":"\nFreed Hostage Ohad Ben Ami: "We Knew the IDF Was Searching for Us\u2014That Gave Us Strength" - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freed Hostage Ohad Ben Ami: "We Knew the IDF Was Searching for Us\u2014That Gave Us Strength"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former hostage Ohad Ben Ami recounted that knowing IDF soldiers were making every effort to locate him gave him strength during his captivity: "We saw the soldiers' dedication and understood that they were doing everything possible to bring us home."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REGA news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-17T12:30:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/17-ohad-ben-ami-with-pres.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"By Rega News Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"By Rega News Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"By Rega News Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3f9b86ab4cc807acf1c0839b1f1ac2ce\"},\"headline\":\"Freed Hostage Ohad Ben Ami: “We Knew the IDF Was Searching for Us\u2014That Gave Us Strength”\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-17T12:30:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/\"},\"wordCount\":537,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/17-ohad-ben-ami-with-pres.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Isaac Herzog\",\"Israeli Hostages\",\"Ohad Ben Ami\"],\"articleSection\":[\"SECURITY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/freed-hostage-ohad-ben-ami-we-knew-the-idf-was-searching-for-us-that-gave-us-strength\/\",\"name\":\"Freed Hostage Ohad Ben Ami: \\\"We Knew the IDF Was Searching for Us\u2014That Gave Us Strength\\\" - 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