The ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas will be deeply felt. To some, it will mean everything. If it proceeds as agreed, the families of 50 women and children of Israeli and other nationalities, held hostage by Hamas since its murderous raids on 7 October, will at last be reunited with their loved ones – with the first release expected on Friday at the earliest. For traumatised families in Gaza, the deal will bring respite from relentless airstrikes and the prospect of desperately needed aid. It will also see the release of 150 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.
There has been talk of such an arrangement for weeks. There is fury among relatives that hostages have ranked so low on Benjamin Netanyahu’s list of priorities: the Israeli prime minister did not meet family members until this week. Hamas refused to provide identifying information on hostages and threatened to cut talks over Israel’s raid on al-Shifa hospital. In the intervening time, several hostages have died, and thousands more Palestinians. Another 100 people in Gaza were killed within hours of the deal being announced.
