'I'm happy I got my life back,' says IDF soldier Ori Megidish in first statement since dramatic rescue from Gaza

The Israeli soldier Ori Megidish, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and rescued by IDF soldiers on Oct. 30, posted a social media video where she expressed her gratitude for regaining her life and freedom.

“I'm happy I got my life back, Megidish said during the video. “I am fine, and I am at home with my family.”

“I came back home a month ago,” she continued and added some “outtakes” where her mother added “from captivity” in the background.

Megidish replies with a laugh: “I know I came back from captivity, mom!”

Ori Megidish, who was rescued by the IDF from Gaza last month, makes 1st public comments in a TikTok vid in which she can be seen joking with her family.

"I'm OK, I'm home with my family, I'm enjoying myself and I'm happy I got my life back," I hope all hostages will come home. pic.twitter.com/f5tvipRkmf

— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) November 27, 2023

A video of Ori's mother Margalit crying out to God for her daughter's release was widely shared in Israel. Knesset Member Galit Distel-Atbaryan shared that she was jealous of Margalit’s faith and love for God in her moment of desperation.

Now that Megidish is home, the IDF soldier said she was happy to see the images of other Israeli hostages returning home to their families in Israel over the last four days.

“I am happy to see all the touching videos of the captives returning home,” she stated. “I wish for all the families to reunite, and to experience moments like I have,” she added.

Megidish was serving in an IDF border observation unit, known in Hebrew as 'tatzpitaniyot' on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and Megidish was kidnapped by terrorist operatives during the assault on the IDF military base in Nahal Oz, located adjacent to the border.

On Oct. 30, Megidish was freed from Hamas captivity in a complex IDF rescue operation, in cooperation with the Israeli intelligence agency, Shin Bet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the rescue operation and welcomed Megidish back home to Israel.

“Last night our forces freed Private Ori Megidish from the hands of Hamas. Ori was kidnapped on the black morning of October 7th. Welcome home Ori, Netanyahu stated.

“I congratulate the Shin Bet and the IDF for this important and exciting achievement, which expresses our commitment to the release of all the abductees. The entire nation of Israel salutes the Shin Bet and salutes the IDF,” the prime minister added.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also praised the Israeli forces and stressed the Jewish state’s commitment to every hostage still held in the Gaza Strip.

"This is further proof of our ability to reach the hostages, of the importance of the ground operation and above all our commitment to each and every one of the hostages," Gallant said.

However, the IDF soldier Megidish is, to date, the only Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip who was freed in a military rescue operation. There were initially hopes that Israeli forces could rescue the hostages in a similar fashion, as during the famous Operation Entebbe on July 4, 1976.

However, the hostage situation in Gaza is much more complex due to the fact that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and local criminal gangs have deliberately spread out the Israeli hostages in different locations, making a larger-scale rescue operation extremely difficult and dangerous.

For the time being, the Jewish state agreed to a hostage deal with Hamas where the Islamist terror group has so far released 50 Israeli hostages and some foreign nationals in exchange for 150 Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli jails.