Families of Gaza hostages hope ceasefire talks will end their nightmare

TEL AVIV, Israel — Some families of hostages held in Gaza believe the latest round of cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas could be the last, best chance to free their loved ones after more than 300 days in captivity.

Families have fought tirelessly to secure the release of their relatives, who were abducted on October 7 during Hamas’ cross-border attack that started the war.

Their hope that the latest talks could result in a breakthrough is tinged by 10 months of disappointment and growing fears of a wider war in the Middle East as Israel faces escalating tensions with Iran and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon.

Some 110 hostages remain in Gaza, after about 100 were released during a brief ceasefire in late November. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants.

Throughout the war, the hostages’ families have soldiered on in anguish and despair, rallying Israelis to their cause, lobbying local and foreign lawmakers and pleading for someone to end their nightmare.

They have seen several rounds of negotiations fail and have increasingly directed their anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom they accuse of prioritising his political survival over the fate of their loved ones.

“We need a ceasefire so that everyone can return,” said Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of Avraham Munder, 78, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his wife, daughter and grandson, the latter three having returned during the first and only truce agreement. “If Netanyahu had wanted them here, they would already be here.”

Netanyahu insists that the hostages’ plight is one of his main concerns.

“The pain these families have endured is indescribable,” Netanyahu told a joint session of the U.S. Congress last month. “I will not rest until all their loved ones are home.”

The best way to free them, he says, is to maintain military pressure on Hamas, a stance backed by two far-right governing partners who are critical to maintaining its grip on power. They have pledged to overthrow the government if Netanyahu moves forward with a deal that would free the hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners convicted of serious crimes or an end to the war.

Netanyahu has also angered some of the hostage families throughout the war with comments or actions that seemed to suggest he has no sympathy for their ordeal.

He has recently hinted that he feels remorse for his role in the political and security failures that led to the unprecedented Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of some 1,200 Israelis. He has been accused of shunning the families of hostages, especially those whose relatives are known to have died in captivity. In comments leaked to Israeli media, he is reported to have said that Hamas was under more pressure than Israel to move toward a deal because the hostages were “suffering but not dying.”

In fact, more than a third of the 110 hostages still held are said to have died in captivity or on October 7, when their bodies were taken to Gaza. Three hostages were mistakenly killed by the Israeli army. Seven hostages were freed in rescue missions, as were several bodies.

The families of the hostages have seen their weekly protest in central Tel Aviv slowly dwindle as Israelis tire of the seemingly endless struggle. They have seen the conflict widen, almost turning into a wider regional war that could overshadow their own plight.

Still, the families have continued their fight, and in July nearly two dozen met with Netanyahu in Washington during his visit there.

Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat is detained in Gaza, said Netanyahu made no tangible promises but that he left the meeting feeling that there might soon be progress. But weeks have passed without any breakthrough.

“That’s an eternity for the hostages,” said Dickmann, who was among a group of hostage relatives wearing a yellow “Seal the deal now” T-shirt in Congress during Netanyahu’s speech. “Anything could happen to them during that eternity.”

Dickmann said attempts by both sides to squeeze the most out of the deal only made it harder to achieve.

The families of the eight American-Israeli hostages held an hour-long meeting with Netanyahu and President Joe Biden, but the Israeli leader also made no firm promises about a deal, said Ruby Chen, the father of Itay Chen, who was killed on Oct. 7 and his body flown to Gaza.

Chen said he had been optimistic about this latest round of talks from his weekly briefings with U.S. officials, who he said view the cease-fire agreement as an opportunity to bring stability to the broader region after the killings of two militant commanders in Beirut and Tehran raised fears of a wider war. He urged the United States to publicly denounce those it sees as obstructing the talks, though he declined to single out anyone.

“The prime minister must look in the mirror and understand that the history book of the State of Israel is being written these days,” he said. “He must decide where he wants to be in that history book.”

Other hostage relatives had harsher words for the Israeli leader.

“Netanyahu, we know you don’t want a deal. We know that if it were up to you, the hostages would rot and die in captivity,” Yotam Cohen, whose 19-year-old brother Nimrod is being held captive, said at a protest Thursday ahead of the new round of talks. One protester shouted: “Their blood is on your hands.”