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An agreement to end the war between Israel and Hamas and the hostages still free in Gaza has given families who have been struggling for more than a year a glimmer of hope that they will finally be able to see their loved ones again.
But hope is only part of the story. Many families of hostages Israel by Hamas 7 October 2023 They don’t know what their relatives are like or even if they are alive. And even those whose relatives seem to have survived do not know whether the deal will last long enough to free them.
Udi Goren – Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Hayemi was killed in an attack by Hamas that took his body to Gaza, said: “These are truly the most difficult days we have had in over a year.” Thursday.
Under the agreement Mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, the final details of which were hammered out on Thursday, the 98 hostages still in captivity – not all alive – will be released in three phases.
The deal follows months of unsuccessful attempts to reach a deal, during which the fate of the detainees has become one of the most emotive issues in Israeli society. It led tens of thousands of people to take to the streets in support of the hostages, whose relatives had been campaigning tirelessly for the Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu Government to reach an agreement for their freedom.
In the first six weeks of the agreement – which Netanyahu’s cabinet See you on Friday. To discuss — 33 hostages will be released to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, including children, women, the sick and the elderly. In the second phase, the remaining surviving male hostages will be released, and in the third, the bodies of the remaining hostages will be returned.
In the first instance, even families whose relatives have to be separated from the structure can expect up to six weeks of excruciating waiting.
But for families whose relatives have not been released until the final phase, the uncertainty is even worse as the two tiers of Israel and Hamas agree to a permanent cessation of hostilities. strongly oppose.
“There is nothing I want to see more than these people, my new family, their loved ones back, their lives back, an end to this horrible torture day and night,” Goren said of the other hostages’ families.
“On the other hand, for us, who were not included in part one, this is not the end of the road. This is the beginning of a new phase of our struggle.
Joshua Huntman, who helped organize a forum representing the hostages’ families, said his family and “the entire country” were preparing for “another period of suffering.”
“Even for the families on the list[for the first chapter]this is not a time of endless joy,” he said. “It’s a time of anxiety with little shreds of hope.”
“After 469 days of excruciating pain, it’s unbelievable suspense. . . It has been reported that people stay in caves full time, people live in cages. No one knows what condition they are in.
Hamas seized 250 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack, and more than 100 were released under a brief truce deal in late 2023. A few others were held hostage by the Israeli army. Israeli officials estimate that more than a third of the remaining hostages are still alive.
For many relatives, and especially for the hostages who died in captivity, the anxiety is compounded by the tragic feeling that the deal – the sweeping statements made by US President Joe Biden in May last year – should have been. He struck quickly.
Gil Dickman, whose cousin Carmel Gat was killed by Hamas last year after 11 months in prison, said his family wants answers to why it took so long to reach an agreement. As far as I can see, the only thing that has changed between May and now is that many of the hostages died, including Carmel, and Trump is now president.
But now the most important thing is to fully implement it, he said. “It will not be done until all the hostages return home, so we ask all concerned to do their best. It’s a good start. It’s the beginning of the end. But it’s not the end until all the hostages go home,” he said.
