“An early Christmas gift.”
This was how Clarice Joy Pacheco described the news that her husband, Gelienor “Jimmy” Pacheco, was among the first batch of 24 hostages freed by Hamas rebels late Friday evening.
“Finally ‘hon, God is really good,” she said in a Facebook post after her almost seven-week nightmare ended.
“Thank you so much to all those who prayed for him, for us. To all those who helped us from the start, a big thanks to all of you.”
“Let’s pray that all the hostages left will be released soon. I feel for their family. It’s not easy. Just keep fighting,” she added.
In a statement from the Philippine Embassy in Israel, Jimmy said his faith in God and his love for his family kept him alive during his ordeal.
“I am alive because of God. Since the first day of my abduction, I thought of my family. While I was there, my only wish was to survive for my family,” the 33-year-old caregiver and father of three said.
Jimmy was taken hostage on Oct. 7 by rebels who attacked the Kibbutz Nir Or where he was staying with his employer, 80-year-old Amitai Ben Zvi.
Clarice was able to identify her husband in a Hamas video that surfaced on Telegram.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said they will shoulder the travel expenses of Pacheco’s wife should she wish to visit him in Israel.
“If the wife wants to visit, she doesn’t need a visa… we can pay for it, if she wants a compassionate visit,” De Vega said on Saturday.