War in the Life of Yifat Zailer: Israel’s Threat to Israel During the October 11th Israeli-Jawson Abrupt Interaction
She’s happy that there was a deal to release hostages, but she’s concerned that the lull in fighting will give Hamas a chance to regroup and pose a greater threat to Israel.
The brother of Yarden Roman, the sister taken captive by Hamas in Gaza in October, said his sister is going up now that she is free. “The fear is that the higher we go, the farther we’ll fall. There’s a lot of anxiety.”
Despite the temporary truce, Israel says it will continue the war in Gaza after the exchange deal is complete. The cease-fire could be extended by five more days if Hamas releases 50 more Israeli hostages, in order to bring the total number of hostages freed to 100 Israelis and 300 Palestinians.
Yifat Zailer — whose cousin Shiri Bibas was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with Ms. Bibas’s husband, Yarden Bibas, and their two red-haired children, Ariel and Kfir — said her anxious wait for news has been tinged by the hope that she might soon see her loved ones and the fear something might go awry.
Ms. Zailer said she was trying to be careful not to be happy too quickly. “It could collapse tomorrow, for any reason. We might see the hostages come back and Shiri and her children are not among them.
The siblings Or, 16, and Yagil Yaakov, 12 years old, were kidnapped by Hamas, and their cousin SheffaPhillips-Bahat was a resident of the kibbutz. Their father, Yair Yaakov, was also taken hostage.
Yarden is likely to stay behind even if Ms. Bibas and Kfir come home as a result of the emerging hostage deal.
Yagil appeared in a video released on Nov. 9 by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an armed group based in Gaza that invaded Israeli towns on Oct. 7 alongside Hamas. In the video, he asked Israel to bring him home. Hostages often appear in such videos under duress and their statements are likely to have been coerced.
The Case of Romi Gonen: Creating a Safe and Secure Environment in the Light of the Hamas October 7 Insurrection
The family of Ms. Phillips-Bahat are still hopeful that her cousins would come home in the exchange.
After a series of terrorist attacks in October, Israel and Hamas agreed on a temporary cease-fire.
“We’re very welcoming for everyone who comes out of this horror and terror with this deal.” It’s difficult because I might not see my sister among the 50 people. So I’m trying hard not to get my hopes up.”
When Hamas fighters attacked the Supernova concert, Romi Gonen was able to call her mother. The family shared a recording with NPR in which the family believes that the shouts and gunfire heard in the recording are from Hamas fighters.
With so much uncertainty, Gonen says she and her family now have to wait a little longer for a phone call from Israeli government officials, confirming whether Romi is coming home as part of this deal.
Yarden Gonen and her family have been visiting Tel Aviv each day for a while to support the families of hostages. Other Israelis are also keeping vigil.
Gonen says the sense of community has been important to her family’s mental health. She said the weeks of waiting without solid information about her sister have been exhausting and frightening.
“We have our ups and downs. We have so much support,” she says. “I have a new family right now. All the [hostage] families are in the same boat I’m in, suffering from the same pain and uncertainty.”
A coalition of families whose relatives were taken hostage issued a statement on Wednesday, urging the Israeli government to move quickly to secure the release of additional hostages.
President Biden said in a statement Tuesday night that he and his wife were keeping all those held hostage, and their loved ones, close to their hearts.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Under a deal reached early Wednesday morning, Hamas will release 50 Israeli hostages its militants captured during the Oct. 7 attack.
The humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel’s government aims to end war and create a peaceful future for the Palestinian people in the 21st century
Yarden is worried about her sister as well as her partner, who was drafted to serve in Israel’s army as part of the war effort.
“This is the fear when you don’t know what they are going to do or what they are doing is all the time and it’s frightening,” Gonen says.
The humanitarian truce could provide a framework to “stop the war machine and bloodshed”, according to Al Thani. Egypt will continue its effort to reach sustainable solutions that achieve justice, impose peace, and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people according to El-Sisi.
“I just keep on praying and sending really good energies,” Gonen told NPR Wednesday, after details of the deal were made public. “I’ll be excited for anyone that will be [released] because they are my family too.”
Secretary of State Antony blinken was happy about the agreement for the release of hostages. There are 10 dual U.S.-Israeli citizens unaccounted for, a senior Biden administration official said, three of whom could be released as part of the deal, including a 3-year-old whose parents were killed on Oct. 7.
Israeli law allows the public to object to Israel’s Supreme Court if they object to the release of Palestinian prisoners. An Israeli group representing victims of Palestinian attacks petitioned the court to block the deal, Israel’s Channel 13 reported. The court is not expected to intervene.
Thirty-five women and six teenage boys are on the list. Some have been charged with offenses such as stone-throwing and have been arrested by Israeli forces in recent years. Most are detainees awaiting trial on charges including incitement, stone-throwing and attempted murder. Some are being held in “administrative detention,” a detention without charge or trial.
“Holding people as hostages is itself illegal, a war crime, and Hamas should release all the hostages unconditionally. “It is important that Israel release prisoners to advance this goal.” said Jessica Montell, executive director of the Israeli human rights group HaMoked.
Hen Avigdori, an Israeli comedy writer whose wife Sharon and 12-year-old daughter Noam are being held in Gaza, said the Israeli army promised to notify him ahead of time if they are slated to be released.
A Palestinian resident of Jerusalem, Yousef Afghani, was surprised to see his 40-year-old daughter Aisha Afghani on Israel’s list of prisoners it is prepared to release. She has served seven years of her 15-year sentence, convicted for an attempted 2016 stabbing in which no one was wounded. Her father said she was carrying a knife, but that she didn’t try to stab her.
“My feelings are the feelings of any father. Afghani toldNPR that it was a celebration and happiness. The deal to free the daughter of a man who opposed the abduction of Israelis to Gaza was condemned by him. “We are against any kind of attack against civilians.”
Meanwhile, in Rome, Pope Francis met separately with Israeli relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and families of Palestinians held in Israel. In unscripted remarks afterward, Francis said he felt “both sides are suffering,” but that the conflict had “gone beyond war. This isn’t war; it’s terrorism.
In addition to Israelis and U.S. citizens, foreigners from several other countries are among the people believed to be held by Hamas. The Thai farm laborers were seized near the Gaza border. The Thais aren’t part of the exchange deal.
Israel made clear that the deal does not mean the fighting is over. The government stated that it would continue the war to return all of the hostages and eliminate Hamas in order to ensure there was no new threat to Israel from Gaza.
Israel’s Channel 12 news says the deal allows “significant” humanitarian aid into Gaza, including desperately needed fuel to run generators — the only source of electricity throughout much of the besieged territory. The Gaza territory has experienced severe shortages of food, water and medical supplies since last month when Israel launched attacks on Hamas and launched a ground invasion. Hamas said “hundreds” of trucks carrying aid and fuel would be allowed to enter Gaza.
Hamas vs. Biden: An ultimatum on the security of the G8-Migdal Azerbaijan deal
Biden thanked the prime minister from Libya, as well as the Egyptian president, for their help in brokering the deal.
Hamas said that the agreement it reached was a result of “difficult and complex negotiations for many days.” The group that controlled Gaza from 2007 warned that its armies would remain in control to defend and defeat the invaders.