Israeli hostage families caught between hope and despair

By Rami Amichay

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - The ceasefire deal that is close to being agreed in Gaza has left families of the 98 hostages still held in the enclave facing a mix of hope, apprehension, and, in some cases, anger as negotiators make a final push to seal an agreement.

The draft proposal shared with Israel and Hamas by Qatari mediators would see 33 children, women and older men, as well as sick and wounded hostages released during the first phase of an extended ceasefire. Israel believes most of these hostages on the list are alive but has not had confirmation from Hamas.

In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released and, if all goes well, negotiators will begin talking about freeing the remaining civilian men and soldiers as well as the bodies of dead hostages as part of a package of measures to end the 15-month war.

"We can't miss this moment, this is the last moment, we can save them," said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted along with around 250 others when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians in the worst attack on Israel in its history.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has lasted more than a year since then, killing more than 46,000 Palestinian fighters and civilians and devastating the narrow coastal enclave but only a handful of hostages have escaped or been freed by the military.

Sahar and Erez were both released in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023 and Ofer, 54, is among those who could be released in the first phase of the new deal.

The last time his children saw him, after 52 days in captivity, he was "in a very bad condition," Hadas said.

"I know he's suffering," she said. "I dream about that. I feel it in my body. I feel he's suffering. I feel it every moment. I feel guilty for any drink I take, or shower or food because I know they don't have it."

Protesters have rallied every week in Tel Aviv to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to agree a deal to bring the hostages home, and a deal has never seemed closer.

But after repeated disappointments, few are willing to celebrate until their loved ones are back. For others, the deal is a cruel deception that will leave their husbands, sons and brothers trapped in Gaza while negotiators begin another round of talks with their Hamas captors.

'DOESN'T DESERVE TO ROT IN GAZA'

"The prime minister should bring a deal that includes all the hostages, including my son, a U.S. citizen and a hero of Israel," said Ruby Chen, whose soldier son Itay was killed in Hamas' attack and whose body is being held in Gaza.

"He saved many people, he doesn't deserve to rot in Gaza," Chen said outside Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, where she joined protesters urging the prime minister to hold out for a comprehensive deal.

Earlier, protesters in the Knesset harangued Defence Minister Israel Katz, who was taking part in a committee meeting, demanding that all the hostages be brought home.

"You are marketing a selection deal here as a humanitarian deal," said representatives of Inbar Hayman, who was killed in Gaza, using the highly emotive word that evokes images of the Nazi Holocaust, when concentration camp inmates were chosen for forced labour or the gas chambers.

"What absolute victory is the prime minister talking about when we are unable to bury our daughter? Is there a greater humiliation for the state?"

Netanyahu met representatives of some of the hostage families on Tuesday but left many fearful about the prospects of release for those left behind.

"I went into the meeting hoping to find out that we're talking about a deal for all the hostages, and I came out very worried that we're not talking about a deal for all of them," said Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat survived 11 months in Hamas captivity before being killed in a tunnel in Gaza.

"We didn't understand, why don't you start the negotiations on the second stage now and get it over with?" he said. "We call upon President Trump and all other leaders of the world to make sure it doesn't stop after the first stage, that all the hostages are coming out."

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell, Steven Scheer, Emily Rose, writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)