The two-day ceasefire extension was greeted by Israelis and Palestinians with a mix of relief and pent-up hope. First, because it would mean the release of at least another 20 women and minors held hostage in Gaza; The latter for the release of another 60 prisoners to East Jerusalem and the West Bank and, above all, for creating a small respite for a devastated strip whose residents live every day without bombings and in the hope that every truck delivers humanitarian aid will not be the latest .
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In Israel, the Argentine-Israeli Bibas family issued a statement emphasizing their “great uncertainty” after learning that the couple, consisting of Yarden and Shiri and their children Ariel, four years old, and Kfir, 10 Months old, not doing this would not be published this Monday either. Shortly afterwards, the Israeli army reported that the four were not in the hands of Hamas, but of another unknown Palestinian faction. “The agreement has given us hope, but no matter how much hope there is, I will not say it is in our hands until I see it with my own eyes,” Yair Keshet, Yarden’s uncle, said in Tel on Friday Aviv to this newspaper.
Several men built a structure in Khuzaa this Monday. SAID KHATIB (AFP)
“This afternoon’s news fills our community with relief. However, we remain deeply concerned for our loved ones who continue to be kidnapped,” said Osnat Peri, leader of Nir Oz, the Israeli kibbutz from which 49 of the hostages kidnapped in the Oct. 7 attack are still in Gaza. in a statement. “We ask everyone to return immediately, regardless of the cost.”
In Gaza, the population is just waiting in resignation for the ceasefire to become final. This is what the pact’s main brokers, Qatar and Egypt, are demanding, and Israel vehemently rejects it. His Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Thursday that the pause would be “short” and that the army would resume the war “with intensity” across the Gaza Strip.
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“Yes, the bombing has stopped, but we need a ceasefire that allows us to return to our homes. If not, it doesn’t make any sense. “I would rather go back to my house and die there than live in shame in a tent and be forced to rely on other people for basic needs,” said Ayman Harb, a father of three who supported the attitude hostilities to cross south of the line to which Israel has forced hundreds of thousands of people to relocate.
Search for water and food
Palestinians are taking advantage of the absence of fighter-bombers in the sky to take to the streets to get food (scarce and expensive) or to line up to fill jugs with drinking water. The Hamas government’s Ministry of Health has also reported that the dialysis department at Al-Shifa Hospital in the capital has returned to operation following the withdrawal of Israeli troops who had occupied it.
Hamas is only extending the ceasefire for 48 hours for now because it cannot commit to handing over 20 women and minors as it needs to locate the rest, as it assured Qatari mediators. One of the armed Islamist group’s leaders, Jalil Al Hayya, suggested late in the day that a new deal that would include adult men would need to be negotiated after the two additional days.
A woman inquires about fruit from a street vendor in Gaza City on Monday.Associated Press/LaPresse (Associated Press/LaPresse)
This is the case of Yonatan Samrano, who was kidnapped at the Nova Festival. His mother Ayelet called on national public television this Monday to put an end to the “hierarchization” of the hostages. “We have a duty not only to accept what they give us, but also to ask for it. “We dictate the list,” he assured. Or Itai Regev, 18, whose sister Maya regained her freedom on Sunday as part of the pact. “It is very difficult for Maya to be here and for Itai to be in Gaza. It’s a merry-go-round of emotions that’s hard to describe,” said his mother Mirit.
Sinwar’s visit
Although information about the status of the released Israeli hostages is strictly controlled, details about the conditions of their abduction in Gaza have emerged, particularly through publications by relatives on social networks or reports from local media.
As can be seen from the pictures, they appear to be in good physical condition, with the exception of an 84-year-old woman who went fifty days without medication for her chronic illnesses and is seriously hospitalized. They were not attacked or tortured and were temporarily given medication. Surprisingly, Yahia Sinwar, Hamas’s political leader in Gaza and Israel’s most wanted man, visited some of them and tried to calm them down in Hebrew, a language he learned in prison.
All of the hostages have lost weight because they were given little food (usually rice, hummus, pita bread and water), which is consistent with the situation of the majority of Gazans. Some have skin diseases that apparently result from being underground. Itai Pesaj, head of the Safra pediatric directorate near Tel Aviv, has assured that the hostage children will be able to return home after receiving basic medical care and that psychologists will not ask them any questions about the events.
Those held in more remote locations underground slept on plastic benches and sometimes had to wait between one and two hours before going to the toilet. Part was divided according to the place where they were captured, as far as they knew each other. Or he was given access to radio news in Hebrew. A woman found out that her son had been murdered on October 7th. Others only learned that they had lost loved ones that day when they returned to Israel.
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