Family members of hostages wait anxiously after Hamas agrees to their release

Family members are waiting anxiously to see if their relatives will be released by Hamas after the terrorist group agreed to release dozens of hostages in exchange for a temporary pause in conflict with Israel.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal on Tuesday in which the terror group will release 50 hostages in exchange for a four-to-five-day halt in the conflict and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners. Family members of the hostages are waiting in anticipation to see if their relatives will be among the 50 released, according to several reports.

The deal between Israel and Hamas goes into effect on Thursday, though a specific timeline for the release of the hostages – which is expected to happen in waves, rather than all at once – remains unclear, according to CNN and The Washington Post. The 50 hostages to be released are likely to be women and children, but many family members say they haven’t received notification whether their relatives are among them, as their exact identities currently remain unknown.

“My family, like all the other families, is going to go through a terrible week. We don’t know if my cousin is going to be amongst those released in this round,” a cousin of a female hostage told CNN. “As it seems, we’re going to have to wait and see every day who is going to be released the following day and that’s going to be extremely hard.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, at the start of the Government meeting:

While this meeting is to discuss the return of our hostages, I would like to start with something that should be self-evident: We are at war – and will continue the war. pic.twitter.com/YaICV89yEU

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 21, 2023

“I am feeling like yesterday and the day before, only worse,” the aunt of a hostage told The New York Times. “We don’t know anything. No official has been in touch to tell us anything. We are on the point of collapse.”

There are currently more than 200 hostages, including Americans, being held by Hamas in Gaza; so far, only four have been released and one has been rescued. Many family members have turned to elected officials to try and expedite the process of their release.

The great-aunt of a 3-year-old American hostage said her absence has been “excruciating,” and hopes the child will be home by Friday, which will be her birthday.

“Friday is Abigail’s fourth birthday… she should be home with her family, and with her sister and brother, and she isn’t right now.” Liz Hirsh Naftali, the 3-year-old’s great aunt, told CNN. “I will believe it when I see [the hostages] walk out, to be driven out, and they are free. Because until then, we just have to keep everything in check, because it’s just too much of an emotional rollercoaster.”

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