As of Shabbos, five rounds of hostage releases have taken place as part of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire agreement. At this point, 17 Israeli hostages remain scheduled to be freed during the first phase of the deal. However, the ceasefire, which began in January, has left family members of several hostages, set to be released soon, anxious about their loved ones’ safety after Hamas provided information stating that eight of the 33 hostages originally listed are deceased. After this announcement, the military confirmed that the information from Hamas aligns with earlier assessments, raising serious concerns about the fate of these hostages.
The initial phase of the release, spanning 42 days, is meant to focus on “humanitarian” cases. These include women, children, elderly people, and those who are sick or frail. According to the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is supposed to provide the names of the hostages being released 24 hours before each round of releases. However, there have been multiple instances where this deadline has not been met by the terror group.
As of February 9, 73 of the 251 Israelis taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks remain in Gaza. This group includes at least 34 confirmed fatalities, as reported by the IDF.
The hostages remaining on the list for release in the first phase of the deal include Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33, along with her two young sons, Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 2. Israel has been pressing mediators for updates on their condition. In November 2023, Hamas claimed that the three had been killed, a claim Israel condemned as “cruel” and unconfirmed. Israel has expressed “grave concern” about their well-being. The first-phase release list also includes five elderly men: Itzik Elgarat (70), Shlomo Mansour (86), Ohad Yahalomi (50), Oded Lifshitz (84), and Tsahi Idan (50), as well as nine younger men under 50: Hisham al-Sayed (36), Sagui Dekel-Chen (36), Yair Horn (46), Omer Wenkert (23), Sasha Trufanov (28), Eliya Cohen (27), Avera Mengistu (38), Tal Shoham (39), and Omer Shem-Tov (22). Al-Sayed and Mengistu have been held captive in Gaza for over ten years after entering the territory on their own. The others were captured during the October 7 assault.
To date, Hamas has freed 21 hostages, including civilians, soldiers, and five Thai nationals, as part of the ceasefire that began on January 19. Additionally, Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were freed in the period prior to that.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel has agreed to release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners, including 737 serving life sentences for various murders, in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages during the first phase of the agreement.
The implementation of this deal has been rocky, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms at different points. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza has added to the uncertainty surrounding whether the multi-phase deal will be fully executed. The 16 hostages freed so far, as part of the deal’s five release rounds, include: Romi Gonen (23), Emily Damari (27), Doron Steinbrecher (31), Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), Agam Berger (21), Danielle Gilboa (20), Naama Levy (20), Arbel Yehoud (29), Gadi Moshe Mozes (80), Keith Siegel (65), Yarden Bibas (35), Ofer Calderon (54), Or Levy (34), Ohad Ben-Ami (58), and Eli Sharabi (52).
The later stages of the deal involve further negotiations aimed at achieving “sustainable calm” in Gaza. These stages will also include the release of the remaining hostages, the freeing of more Palestinian security prisoners, and Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Although talks for the second phase were set to begin last week, the delegation sent by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to Doha on Saturday reportedly only has the mandate to discuss technical aspects of the ongoing first phase. Netanyahu’s office has denied claims that the prime minister presented a plan in Washington to end the conflict in Gaza, which would be required for the second phase but is considered a red line by the right-wing factions of his coalition. The families of male hostages, whose release is scheduled for after the first phase, have voiced growing concern over the delay in discussions for the second phase of the deal.
{Matzav.com Israel}
