Palestinians and Israelis have shared mixed reactions to the announcement of a brief truce in Gaza, which will see Israeli captives held by Hamas being exchanged in stages with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
While there is a sense of excitement and anticipation about the possible release and return of a loved one, there is also a sense of sadness and disappointment about the continuing war on Gaza and the widespread suffering.
Maha Arafat, from Nablus in the occupied West Bank, awaits the release of her daughter Maryam from an Israeli prison.
“We didn’t expect the exchange to go this way. So many victims in Gaza. Images that no one can understand,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune. “Sometimes I say I don’t want my daughter to be released. Just leave Gaza alone. We are so touched by what is happening there.
Mediator Qatar announced Thursday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a four-day pause in fighting, which includes the exchange of some of the prisoners captured by the Palestinian group Hamas in an attack in southern Israel. Israel on October 7, against Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The truce is expected to begin at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Friday. The first group of hostages held in Gaza – 13 women and children – will be released around 4 p.m. (2 p.m. GMT) and handed over to the Red Cross. Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be released on Friday.
Under the agreement, Hamas will release a total of 50 prisoners, while Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Around 5,200 Palestinians were in Israeli prisons before October 7, and 3,000 have since been arrested, including 145 children and 95 women.
Which of the long list of Palestinian prisoners will be allowed to leave and when is up to Israeli authorities.
Nisreen al-Titi, also from Nablus and sister of a Palestinian prisoner, told Tel Aviv Tribune she had mixed emotions about her possible release.
It remains unclear whether his sister Aseel – who has been in prison for more than a year after being accused by Israel of attempting to stab an Israeli guard while visiting her incarcerated brother – will be released.
But his family remains hopeful.
“Our uncle was killed and our brother was shot while Aseel was in prison. She doesn’t know it. When she is released, she will find that her life has changed,” al-Titi said. “Yes, we are happy, but it is definitely incomplete.”
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has asked the country’s corrections chief, Katy Perry, to cancel attempts to celebrate the release of prisoners in detention facilities, the Times of Israel reported. Israel.
He also reportedly asked Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to use “an iron fist” against attempts to celebrate prisoner releases or support terrorism.
Marwan Bishara, Tel Aviv Tribune’s senior political analyst, said: “They won’t let the Palestinians cry or celebrate. If mourning or celebration is not allowed, what is allowed? If you can’t resist peacefully, how else can people bring freedom to their loved ones?
Reporting from Nablus, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Zein Basravi said families of Palestinian prisoners were tense at the news that no West Bank prisoners would be released under the deal.
“This is an intrinsic question for every Palestinian. Either they spent time in an Israeli prison or they know someone who did. For the Palestinians, this has been a very tense time. We have spoken to the families of those on the list, but they say they have still not been told anything and have no confirmation,” he said.
“Not knowing is something that completely consumes them. We were very excited when we met them earlier yesterday (Thursday),” he said, while noting that many remain skeptical and believe their family members or others can still be returned. arrested, as has been the case in the past.
More than 14,500 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, including nearly 6,000 children. In Israel, the official death toll from the Hamas attack stands at around 1,200 people.
“I didn’t win the lottery,” Guy Metzger said, after learning his mother was not among the first group of Israelis to be released.
His parents Tamar Metzger, 78, and Yoram Metzger, 80, were taken prisoner. Metzger told The Wall Street Journal that he hoped his mother, Tamar, could still be among the women and children expected to be released in the coming days. The deal does not include any adult males.
Gideon Levy, a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, said the release of some hostages would trigger both celebrations and mourning in Israel, while many others remain detained.
“Right now, Israelis support the continuation of the war, but there will come a time when Israel will have to ask itself: how long and what will happen after that and at what cost will we continue? All these questions are now open and the coming days will show whether we are heading towards further escalation after the truce,” he said.
Basravi reported that “people say they are grateful for the ceasefire, but they think it will be incomplete happiness if their loved ones are not released,” adding that many fear a truce in Gaza would lead to an increase in raids already intensified in the occupied territories. Western Bank.