‘just a glimmer of hope’

It was the time the Israelites were longing for. On Sunday afternoon, 471 long days after they were captured by Hamas in the darkest period in Israel’s history, three young prisoners made the painful journey from a prison in Gaza to freedom in the land of their country.

The release of these three women – Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher – marked the beginning of a multi-stage agreement that offers the possibility of an end to the brutal war in Gaza, and the hope of freedom for many hostages after’ for more than 15 months. torture for them, their families and the community.

But the Israelites’ joy and relief at their deliverance is tinged with anxiety about what the coming weeks will reveal. Israeli officials believe at least half of the remaining 94 hostages are dead. And many doubt the peace deal will last long enough to bring everyone back.

Udi Goren says: “There is a difference between this state of mind where this could be the last day (of life) for their husband or their child – and the possibility that that person would be sleeping in a room next week,” says Udi Goren. , whose family is waiting for the return of the body of his cousin Tal Haimi, who was killed on October 7 and taken to Gaza.

“I don’t think words can express the great difference between these two feelings.”

In the last 15 months, the fate of the captives has been deepening in the Israeli community. Their faces from the happy times have been beaten and re-plastered on buildings and billboards from Haifa to Eilat. Details of their lives fill the daily news. Meetings demanding the government to take action to get them released have become a weekly issue.

But as time drew to a close this week, along with hopes that at least some would be freed, there were reminders of how dire the situation is. Missiles from Yemen echoed the terrifying sound of airstrikes across the country. In Tel Aviv, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli before being shot dead by a passerby.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes continued to bombard Gaza until Sunday morning, bringing the death toll in the devastated area since the truce was announced last week to more than 140, according to officials. of Palestine.

“There is a glimmer of hope, but it is not light at the end of the tunnel,” said Daria Giladi, as she and a friend joined a rally in support of the hostages in downtown Jerusalem on Saturday evening.

“You are happy people are going home, you are happy that the war will end, even for a while. But there is still a long way to go. Only a third of the captives are to return (in the first six-week period of the agreement). So it’s not enough. ”

Even for the relatives of the 33 hostages who should be released in the first phase of the deal – when children, women, the sick and the elderly will be released – uncertainty is strong.

Sharone Lifschitz’s parents, Yocheved and Oded, lifelong advocates of coexistence with Palestinians, were both arrested on October 7. Yocheved was released 17 days later. But the family knows nothing about Oded’s fate. When Yocheved returned, he told his family that he had died. But the hostages who were released a few weeks later in an agreement in November 2023 said they saw him alive.

So for the past 15 months, the family waited, hoping against hope that Oded would return safely, while grappling with the magnitude of what that would mean for the octogenarian’s weak shot. hand during the Hamas attack to survive so long in Hamas captivity. .

“We are all fighting for him with the belief that, until we know otherwise, we want him back. “If his destiny and his strength hold, and he finds a way to survive all the odds, we look forward to seeing him,” says Lifschitz, his voice catching.

“(But) he saw the destruction of everything he fought for. And then he should have been in the hands of the people who repented (that destruction). And he had to live in a certain way when his health was not strong and he was injured. It’s hard to wish that on anyone—let alone the father you love so much.”

For families whose relatives should not be released until the second and third phase of the agreement – when the remaining male prisoners, and the bodies of the dead, will be returned – the uncertainty is great.

When a seven-day deal and a prisoner exchange took place in November 2023, freeing 110 of the 250 hostages originally held, many in Israel hoped it would lead to more such deals, and that the remaining captives may be returned. so soon.

But what followed was 14 months of false dawns, as Israel and Hamas repeatedly failed to reach an agreement, and the number of living hostages steadily dwindled. Claims by far-right ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of repeatedly reneging on the deal have angered relatives of the hostages. And it has left those with relatives who are not due to be released until the second or third stages fearing that their time may not come.

Among them is Herut Nimrodi, whose then 18-year-old son Tamir was arrested wearing pyjamas, barefoot and without glasses, from his military base in near the Erez crossing in the first hours of the Hamas attack.

Nimrodi knows the exact time – 06.49am – of their last message, when Tamir contacted him and said the rockets were landing at the base. The family found out she was taken when one of her daughters saw a video on Instagram. But after months they still have no sign of his condition. In November, they marked his 20th birthday without knowing “if he reached 19“.

“I know that my son’s name is not on the list (to be released in the first part), because he is a soldier, and we are afraid,” Nimrodi said. “What I’m afraid of is not only that we won’t get to the next stage. But also that (once the first group is released) the reception (for other releases) will be very limited, because it will be and the captives are few, and only men.”

It is also recognized that, even for those who return, returning will only be the first step. Lifschitz says her mother is doing “better than most of us” when she comes back from prison.

But for those who have spent more than 15 months in captivity, the process can be even more difficult. Detainees who were released earlier spoke of being kept in prisons, or in complete darkness, being drugged and beaten, and in some cases being tortured or witnessing sexual abuse.

Hagai Levine, a doctor who works with a forum that supports families of hostages, said in a press conference last week that he expects “every aspect of (the detainees’) physical and mental health will be affected”. “Time is of the essence – the recovery will be long and painful,” he said.

But for all the trouble ahead, families are eager for the process to begin. “Everyone in Israel – and families – need closure. We are a wounded nation now. We are in crisis. We have not yet started the latest crisis,” says Nimrodi. “We need to heal. And seeing the captives return is a form of healing for us as a nation. ”

Lifschitz agrees. “We know that many of the hostages are not alive and we will have several funerals and shivas (mourning periods) to complete. But at least, there will be some kind of closure,” he says. . We’ll know. At least we’ll know.”