Bonus: Coming Home
A few days ago, the week-long festival of Sukkot began. Walking the streets of Tel Aviv in the morning hours of the holiday felt just like every year. The city was quiet, as many people travel, taking advantage of the days off work. Schools have been closed for a few days now, for an even longer break. Many businesses, including some that are usually open on Shabbat, were closed.
Walking the mostly vacant streets, one can see many makeshift structures - called Sukkot in Hebrew, hence the name of the holiday - in which people have meals and sleepovers, creating a temporary life out of their comfortable homes. Large Sukkot are built right by hotels in the city, to facilitate guests’ religious needs.
But this year, the holiday coincided with October 7th 2025 - the second anniversary of the brutal surprise attack on Israel. Two years ago, at exactly 6:29 AM, a Palestinian terrorist organization called Hamas, the totalitarian governing body of the Gaza Strip for almost twenty years, launched thousands of missiles indiscriminately into civilian population centers in Israel. As the sun rose in the east, thousands of Hamas militants stormed the fence dividing Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, deliberately raiding military bases as well as villages and towns in the Western Negev region.
The gruesome events of that day are still hard to repeat in plain words. Hundreds of civilians were murdered - hit by the missiles; shot by anti-tank ammunition as they were driving on the road; suffocated by smoke filling the safe room in their home, which was lit on fire; blown by grenades thrown into shelters; shot with assault rifles as they were running away from a music festival.
Later on, it was confirmed that Hamas terrorists also used sexual violence as an act of war and tortured victims by mutilation. They also took the trouble of livestreaming their assault on social media to further terrorize an entire nation, which they sought to exterminate. Of those murdered were also women, children and elderly people. Today we count almost 1,200 people who lost their lives in the attack, including police and military personnel who fell in the course of their duty.
The horrific stories of that day include family members holding on to the handle of the safe room as terrorists try to breach it. Urgent calls and text messages begged for help, but first responders were ambushed on their search and rescue missions. Thousands were injured and traumatized.
Today we know that 251 people were taken hostage on that day and were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, including women and children, as well as elderly people - a few of them were holocaust survivors. The country that based itself on the concept that as long as Israel exists the gas chambers stay closed, did not deliver on its promise for hours, on that day of slaughter.
Instead of rejoicing for the holiday of Sukkot, Israelis flooded social media with posts for the second anniversary of the October 7th attack. People recalled where they were on that day and wrote in memoriams about their loved ones. One of the busier places in the city around that day was Dizengoff Square, which had become a temporary monument for those we had lost. Residents in nearby streets had volunteered to clean up the makeshift remembrance site and renew the photos and signs which withstood the elements for two years. It was already on the first day of the war that people lit memorial candles in Dizengoff Square and later photos and signs were neatly added right by the fountain at the center of the rounded plaza.
October 7th temporary memorial in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Square
In the evening hours, a national remembrance service organized by bereaved families was held at Park HaYarkon - the most suitable place in Tel Aviv to host tens of thousands of people from all over the country. Major TV channels in Israel broadcasted the event, which was also screened in public venues all across Israel and in numerous locations in other countries.
But in a different part of the city hope was on the rise. Reports were coming in from behind the closed doors on a ceasefire agreement being reached, including the release of all Israeli hostages - 47 men and one woman. 48 hostages in total, 20 of whom are known to be alive, though in horrific conditions and under life threats suffered for 735 days as this episode comes out.
The epicenter of action for their release is now known as Hostages’ Square - a public square in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and the city’s central public library, which became a second home for families of those who were kidnapped. Displays were positioned in the square, including a mock up underground tunnel simulating where hostages are being held and a giant digital clock counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds since 6:29 AM, October 7th, 2023.
With reports of the ongoing negotiations, optimism had spread across the place, which became a symbol of the Israeli cry to see the release of all of those who were abducted. It culminated with a historic ceasefire declaration by American President Donald Trump, whose efforts to see peace in the Middle East have not been in vain. The next day, the Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement.
It didn’t take long for the Israeli Defense Forces to withdraw to the agreed ceasefire line. This was yet another proof that all Israel sought was to bring the hostages back home. It wasn’t a campaign against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, nor an onslaught against the Palestinian People. It was merely the efforts of a life-seeking country refusing to abandon the citizens it vowed to protect. As I record this episode, Israelis in their thousands are visiting Hostages’ Square to feel more of the optimism that was long overdue.
My name is Tomer Chelouche and I've been guiding tours in Tel Aviv since 2008. I started out of fascination with my family history - the Chelouche family was one of the founding families of Tel Aviv. My ancestors built this city - and I'm telling its story.
The best way to get to know Tel Aviv better is by purchasing one of my audio tours. In each episode of this podcast I recommend one of the six audio tours I created in Tel Aviv or the one I created in Jerusalem, but this time I’d like to recommend something a bit different.
Last August, I had the opportunity to livestream a virtual tour of Hostages’ Square and it’s available for you to watch on my website, as a reminder of the troubled days Tel Aviv had seen for two years - the longest war that the State of Israel had had since its inception. My library of virtual tours is a way for you to visit this place from afar.
You can check out my virtual tours library on my website. There's a link in the show notes to watch all my virtual tours online -
Virtually visit Tel Aviv - from the comfort of your home
If you’d like to support my efforts, feel free to pre-buy my audio tours. You’ll have lifetime access to these digital experience enhancements, so whenever you come visit Israel - you’ll be able to enjoy them. This is much appreciated until tourism will pick up again and tour guides like me will be back doing what we love - telling the amazing story of this incredible place. May we see long-lasting peace in the region for the benefit of all.
You can download my audio tours over the app called Voicemap. There's a link in the show notes to purchase my audio tours in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem -
Voicemap audio tours in Israel
If you have any questions - you’ll find all the ways to contact me on telaviv.tours (telaviv as one word, no space, no hyphen) and there’s a link in the show notes for your digital convenience.
The last time I’ve put out a bonus episode for you was during Operation Rising Lion in June 2025. During that time of emergency, that turned out to be a 12-day war between Israel and Iran, Tel Aviv was hit in the hardest manner in its history since it was bombarded by Egyptian planes in the Israeli War of Independence in 1948.
Several impact sites of Iranian ballistic missiles were recorded throughout the city with damages amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. More than 25 thousand apartments were hit and many residents took shelter in hotel rooms arranged for them by the local government. Some haven’t yet returned home and are still designated as displaced people on account of the war.
I also had the opportunity to show one of Tel Aviv’s impact sites during Operation Rising Lion in another virtual tour. You can check it out in the virtual tours library on my website.
As I had promised back then, this podcast continued as usual despite the challenges. The irrepressible optimism of Tel Aviv lived up to the expectations. We've weathered the storm and our city's spirit proved to be unbreakable. The last regular episode aired the day before yesterday, like every Thursday at noon. In it I asked whether Tel Aviv is losing some of its non-stop city vibe and offered some tips for saving money during your trip here. My next pre-recorded episode will air on schedule, next week, and so will future episodes, some already written and waiting to be recorded.
Crowds gather at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv in anticipation of the release of all Israeli hostages
As I record this, I can hear the distant sounds of thousands gathering at Hostages’ Square right by Beit Ariela - that’s Tel Aviv’s central public library, where I record this podcast. The joy of people coming here to celebrate the expected release of their fellow countrymen is simply indescribable. You just have to be here to feel it. The history books that haven’t yet been written will certainly record October 2025 as a major milestone in the Israeli experience.
Thanks for listening and you’ll hear from me again when the next regular episode comes out next week.Until then - I am Tel Aviv tour guide Tomer Chelouche, signing off and hoping to see you soon in Tel Aviv.
