(TPS) As reports and public comments suggested progress towards an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal on Monday, families of the captives worried that an agreement would not bring about the freedom of all their loved ones and that US President-elect Donald Trump would tie Israel’s hands.
Yehoshua Shani, father of fallen soldier Uri Mordechai Shani and chairman of the Forum of Valor of bereaved families, told The Press Service of Israel of his disappointment with what he described as a deviation from the government’s initial war objectives.
“Since the war began, we’ve met with Prime Minister Netanyahu multiple times. We heard a clear call for absolute victory, the dismantling of Hamas, and the return of all hostages. Unfortunately, from the details emerging, the current deal being negotiated does not align with these commitments,” Shani said.
He warned that concessions would endanger Israeli citizens and erode the goals of the war.
“Next week, with the Trump administration entering the White House, we are confident that they will keep their word and provide the Israeli government with all the support needed to achieve decisive action, a complete victory, and the return of all hostages,” Shani said.
But not all the families were as confident in Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20. Trump recently remarked that “All hell will break out” if the hostages are not released by the time he is sworn in.
Addressing lawmakers of the Knesset’s Health Committee on Monday, Tzvika Mor said, “Yesterday, I realized that just as when Biden says ‘don’t,’ he means Israel, not Iran, so we don’t go wild on Iran. And in the same manner, when Trump said ‘hell,’ he meant hell for us, not for Hamas.” Hamas abducted Mor’s son Eitan, then 23, at the Nova music festival.
Mor expressed frustration over the idea of a “partial deal” that would leave some hostages behind.
“Why aren’t we opening the gates of hell with this partial deal? We’re buying back some of our brothers with the blood of others left behind. Who knows how many years they’ll remain there?” he asked lawmakers. “No more Jewish selections. The only country that conducts selections among Jews is Israel. Everyone comes home, all at once. No less.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar confirmed on Monday that diplomacy has advanced the likelihood of a hostage deal.
“Progress was made; we see some progress in the negotiations,” said Sa’ar at a joint press conference with visiting Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
“Israel wants a hostage deal. Israel is working with our American friends in order to achieve a hostage deal, and soon we will know whether the other side wants the same thing,” Sa’ar said.
However, coalition support for the agreement is not unanimous.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the emerging deal “a catastrophe for the national security of the State of Israel,” saying he could not support an agreement that involved freeing convicted terrorists or halting military operations in Gaza.
“This is the time to continue with full force, conquer and cleanse the entire Gaza Strip, finally wrest control of humanitarian aid from Hamas, and open the gates of hell on Gaza until Hamas’s complete surrender and the return of all hostages,” Smotrich tweeted.
Opposition MK Benny Gantz and leader of the National Unity party threw his support behind the emerging deal.
“Reaching a plan to return our hostages is a supreme value and a strategic necessity — failing to return them and abandoning them is a national catastrophe,” Gantz said in a statement.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 95 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
