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Elad Zagman/TPS-IL on 15 January, 2025
As Israel Awaits Hamas Response to Truce, Hostage Families Grapple With Uncertainty
Jerusalem, 15 January, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Amid conflicting reports on the state of a widely anticipated ceasefire and hostage agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Wednesday afternoon that Israel has not received a response from Hamas.
“Contrary to reports, the Hamas terrorist organization has not yet returned its response to the deal,” the one-sentence statement said.
The phased nature of the hostage release and ceasefire has divided lawmakers and families of the captives.
Amid the uncertainty, the family of Yarden and Shira Bibas, who were abducted with their children Ariel and Kfir, released a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are aware of the publications stating that all of our family members are included in phase A of the agreement and that Shiri and the children are among the first to be released. We have learned from experience and disappointment, and therefore, until our loved ones cross the border, there is no end to the story,” the family said.
“We are waiting for certainty regarding their release and their condition and ask that you do not contact us during this sensitive period. We ask that you do not help spread rumors. We are addressing the Prime Minister and continue to demand the return of everyone, down to the last abductee,” the family added.
Shiri and the children were supposed to be released along with 105 other women and children during the temporary ceasefire of November 2023. On November 29, Hamas claimed the three had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. But the terror group provided no evidence. Israel accused Hamas of psychological warfare and said the terror group was responsible for the safety of the hostages.
It is understood that during the ceasefire’s first phase, 33 hostages — women, children, elderly and the sick — will be released, Israeli forces will redeploy from Gaza population centers, and Palestinians who fled their homes in the Strip’s northern areas will be allowed to return.
In addition, Israel would begin releasing Palestinian security prisoners and facilitating more humanitarian aid deliveries.
It is also understood that on day 16 of the ceasefire, talks will begin over the next round of hostages to be released, army redeployments and security protocols for Palestinian prisoners returning to Gaza.
The first phase would last 42 days, and if the ceasefire does not collapse, further Israeli hostages and Palestinian security prisoners would be released and along with additional military redeployments.
Phase three would see the release of the final hostages, followed by an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Fueling the uncertainty, reports conflicted on whether Hamas had accepted the deal or not.
Supporters of the agreement say it is the last chance to bring hostages home alive. Critics say the phased approach condemns hostages not freed in the beginning to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.
Col. (Res.) Hezi Nechama told The Press Service of Israel that while saving the lives of captives may justify these risks, such decisions be made with full awareness of the price.
“If we go back to fighting, the costs will be heavy, unless we abandon the idea of fighting Hamas altogether, which means conceding our objectives,” said Nechama, one of the founders of the Forum of Reservist Commanders and Fighters.
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.
