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 chance to free their loved ones after more than 300 days in captivity.

The families have advocated tirelessly to secure the release of their relatives, who were uprooted on October 7 during the cross-border attack by Hamas that started the war.

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

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

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

They saw several rounds of negotiations collapse. And they have increasingly directed their anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom they accuse of prioritizing his political survival over the fate of his loved ones.

“We need a ceasefire to get everyone back,” said Zahiro Shahar Mor, a nephew of Avraham Munder, 78, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz with his wife, daughter and his nephew – the last three returned during the first and only armistice. “If Netanyahu wanted them here, they would have been here.”

Netanyahu insists he has the hostage situation in mind.

“The pain these families have endured is beyond words,” Netanyahu told a joint session of the US Congress last month. “I will not rest until all my loved ones are home.”

He says the best way to free them is to maintain military pressure on Hamas, a position supported by two far-right governing partners who are essential to maintaining its power. They have vowed to topple the government if Netanyahu reaches a deal to release 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 families of the hostages throughout the war, with comments or actions that seemed to suggest he did not sympathize with their ordeal.

He has only recently hinted at remorse for his role in the political and security failures that led to the unprecedented Hamas attack that killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis. He was accused of avoiding the families of hostages, particularly those whose relatives are known to have died in captivity. In comments to Israeli media, he said Hamas was under more pressure than Israel to reach a deal because the hostages were “suffering but not dying.”

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

The families of the hostages have seen their weekly protest in central Tel Aviv gradually dwindle as Israelis grow weary of the seemingly endless battle. They have watched the conflict expand, almost tipping over into a wider regional war that could eclipse their own situation.

However, the families 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 being held in Gaza, said Netanyahu made no concrete promises but left the meeting feeling optimistic that progress could come soon. Instead, weeks passed without movement.

“This is an eternity for hostages,” said Dickmann, who was among a group of hostage relatives wearing a yellow shirt reading “seal the deal now” in Congress during Netanyahu’s speech. “Anything could happen to them in that eternity.”

Dickmann said attempts by both sides to squeeze as much out of the deal as possible only make it more elusive.

The families of the eight American-Israeli hostages had an hour-long meeting with both Netanyahu and President Joe Biden, but neither Israeli leader made any firm promises about a deal, said Ruby Chen, their father Itay Chen, who was killed on October 7, his body taken to Gaza.

Chen said he drew optimism about this latest round of talks from his weekly briefings with US officials, who he said saw the ceasefire agreement as a chance to bring stability to the wider region after the killing of two militant commanders in Beirut and Tehran raised fears of a wider war. He has called on the US to publicly call out anyone it believes is obstructing the talks, though he declined to point the finger himself.

“The prime minister must look carefully in the mirror and understand that these are the days in which the history book of the State of Israel is being written,” he said. “He has to 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,” said Yotam Cohen, whose 19-year-old brother Nimrod is being held captive, at a protest on Thursday ahead of the new round of talks. One protester chanted “their blood is on your hands”.