{"id":18124,"date":"2025-03-26T21:01:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T19:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=18124"},"modified":"2025-03-26T21:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T19:01:46","slug":"from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"From Captivity to the Coast: Omer and Liam Fulfill their Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

After being released in the most recent hostage deal, Omer Wenkert fulfilled a simple but powerful dream he had shared with his close friend Liam Or Nassar\u2014to go to the beach.<\/p>\n

The Big Plan Was: Once We\u2019re Out, We Go to the Sea<\/strong>
\nIn an emotional Instagram <\/em>post shared Wednesday, Omer and Liam are seen basking in the sun by the sea, soaking in freedom after months of unimaginable hardship. Omer reflected on their shared dream, writing: \u201cLiam and I met on October 7th, deep inside Hamas\u2019s tunnels. We constantly clung to the hope of freedom. Our big plan was\u2014once we\u2019re out, we go to the sea. <\/p>\n

On November 29, Liam was released as part of the first hostage deal. He asked me, \u2018What should I do now?\u2019 I smiled and said, \u2018Go to the sea.\u2019<\/p>\n

But he insisted on waiting for me\u2014and I\u2019m so glad we could be here together.<\/p>\n

Today, 483 days later, our moment finally came.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Omer and Liam at the beach | Screenshot via Omer Vankert\u2019s Instagram
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now I\u2019m Waiting for My Moment with Avia and Gaiyo<\/strong>
\nOmer ended his post with a hopeful message: \u201cAnd now? Now I\u2019m waiting for my moment with Avia and Gaiyo. I\u2019m waiting for you at home, my brothers. Everyone home\u2014now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liam\u2019s Prayer Came True<\/strong>
\nLiam, a resident of Kibbutz Re\u2019im, was kidnapped on October 7 while visiting family in Kibbutz Be\u2019eri. His cousins Alma and Noam, along with his uncle Dror, were also abducted. Alma and Noam were released on November 25, while Liam was freed on November 29.<\/p>\n

In May 2024, Kibbutz Be\u2019eri was informed that Dror had been murdered during the October 7 attack and that his body remains in Hamas custody. After his release, Liam said, \u201cI\u2019m praying for my friend Omer\u2019s freedom,\u201d adding, \u201cI\u2019m just waiting to see him again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After his release from Hamas captivity, Omer fulfilled a dream he had shared with his close friend, Liam Or Nassar. \u201cWe had a plan\u2014once we got out, we\u2019d go to the beach,\u201d Omer wrote in an emotional Instagram post, celebrating the moment his prayer was finally answered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2276,85,88],"tags":[2631,3506,1514,3135],"class_list":["post-18124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","category-positive-moment","category-will-remember","tag-hostage-release","tag-liam-or-naser","tag-october-7","tag-omer-wenkert"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Captivity to the Coast: Omer and Liam Fulfill their Dream - 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=\"From Captivity to the Coast: Omer and Liam Fulfill their Dream\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After his release from Hamas captivity, Omer fulfilled a dream he had shared with his close friend, Liam Or Nassar. \u201cWe had a plan\u2014once we got out, we\u2019d go to the beach,\u201d Omer wrote in an emotional Instagram post, celebrating the moment his prayer was finally answered.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REGA news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-26T19:01:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/omersea.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"By Yoav Bowman\" \/>\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 Yoav Bowman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"By Yoav Bowman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/2500eda9386ebe013aa5f19f2959b231\"},\"headline\":\"From Captivity to the Coast: Omer and Liam Fulfill their Dream\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-26T19:01:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/\"},\"wordCount\":334,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/omersea.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Hostage Release\",\"Liam Or Naser\",\"October 7\",\"Omer Wenkert\"],\"articleSection\":[\"PEOPLE\",\"POSITIVE\",\"REMEMBERING\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/from-captivity-to-the-coast-omer-and-liam-fulfill-their-dream\/\",\"name\":\"From Captivity to the Coast: Omer and Liam Fulfill their Dream - 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