As a hostage deal gets closer, ILTV’s Shosh Bedrosian spoke to hostage family members and shared her insights in the studio.
HOSTAGE FAMILIES
Lidar Grave-Lazi: What does it mean to these families?
Bedrosian: It's just surreal to think we're actually at this point after more than a year—way more than a year—since we saw the first agreement happen in November of 2023. For the families, hearing this news, of course, it's been a game of ping-pong. For them, they hear updates, you know, from this month, this month, and now we're finally to this point where it seems as if there's some finalization going on with this deal.
I've gotten close with a few of these families. They have told me it is not a deal until they get that phone call.
Specifically, one of those hostage families is the family of Omri Miran. His wife has been fighting significantly to get him back home. She told me, the minute I get that phone call is the minute I know that he is on his way back.
Of course, we don't know the conditions of these hostages, so there are challenges ahead.
Grave-Lazie: What do the families of the hostages want to see when it comes to a deal this time around?
Bedrosian: They want to see all hostages, alive and dead, as part of this deal. Some families say all the hostages don't have to come out at once in the first phase of this deal, but they want to see a plan that includes every single hostage coming home, whether they walk out or whether they're brought back to Israel for a proper burial.
Here’s what some hostage families have to say:
“We’re waiting. But me personally, I don’t believe anything until I am going to see them at the border,” said Ifat Kalderon, cousin of Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon. “Everybody can say whatever they want.”
“I'm hopeful that this time it's going to happen and we're going to see 98 people back home,” said Shay Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat, who was killed in captivity.