'Emotional rollercoaster' for families awaiting Gaza swap deal to free hostages
Under the terms of the four-day truce agreement, 50 hostages from Israel will initially be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Emotions were running high among Israeli and Palestinian families Thursday after a deal to free hostages held by Gaza militants in exchange for Israeli-held prisoners was delayed by a day.
The breakthrough swap, set to be staggered over four days, was now due to start Friday with the freeing of 13 Israeli women and children and the reciprocal release of some 30 Palestinian women and male teenagers.
The deal was pushed back overnight, Israeli officials said, drawing out the anguish for families of the about 240 hostages seized by Hamas militants on October 7 when they staged the deadliest attacks in Israel's history.
"We've already been on an emotional rollercoaster for 47 days and today is no different," said Eyal Kalderon, 38, whose cousin Ofer was kidnapped along with his two children, Erez, who turned 12 in captivity, and Sahar who is 16.
Also read: Israel-Hamas truce deal to begin tomorrow: All you need to know
"We are hoping at the very least that the children will come back as soon as possible," he said. "Time is running out and they can't wait any more -- not them, not the elderly people, nor those who are sick or wounded."
Standing at his side, Kalderon's twin sister Yael said they were trying to keep their hopes in check but it was difficult with the situation in flux.
"We are trying not to get our hopes up too much and we will only be able to breathe easy when we see them with our own eyes, with the Red Cross," she told AFPTV.
"But it's hard to ignore the news and it shakes you up."
News that 13 hostages would be released at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Friday was likely to cause more emotional turmoil among the families, said a doctor working with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
It is supporting more than 1,000 close family members who have people held in Gaza.
"Imagine what it's like for the families," said Professor Hagai Levine, who heads its medical team.
"Some know it's probably not their time because it's women and children but still there's hope: maybe my beloved will be released, they just don't know.
"Now they have this uncertainty for 24 hours... imagine the unbelievable tension: is it my beloved or not?"
The hostages would be handed to the Red Cross then passed on to the Israeli army with doctors on hand to meet them, although the families would not meet them at the handover site "for safety issues".
The Kalderon siblings said their cousin Ofer would be marking his 53rd birthday in captivity in Gaza on Saturday, after his son Erez turned 12 on October 27.
"For Ofer, the best present will be knowing that his children are coming back to us here, and will be with their mum Hadass and with the whole loving family," Eyal said.
Under the terms of the four-day truce agreement, 50 hostages from Israel will initially be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners, with the potential for further swaps at the same ratio.
Israeli authorities have published a list of 300 eligible detainees, without specifying the order of release.
An Israeli official source said the prisoner handover would happen after the hostages were safely in Israel's hands, with those slated for release coming from three prisons in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
Also read: US President Biden speaks to leaders of Israel, Egypt and Qatar in wake of hostage deal
"They will be taken to Ofer military camp on buses belonging to the prisons authority" where they would be freed, the source said, referring to a camp near Ramallah in the West Bank.
In Beit Safafa, in annexed east Jerusalem, the mother of one 23-year-old Palestinian prisoner said tension had skyrocketed after the deal was delayed.
"Only God knows how bad I feel," said Fatina Salman, whose daughter Malak was arrested on her way to school when she was 16 for trying to stab a policeman in Jerusalem.
"I can't think any more, we are waiting and I'm scared something will go wrong," she said.
"Every development stresses me," she said, her voice trembling. “I haven't slept since we were told about an agreement, I worry all the time.”
Recommended Topics 