The announcement on Wednesday of a ceasefire agreement being reached between Israel and Hamas elicited contrasting reactions from two groups representing the families of those still being held in Gaza.
The Tikva Forum of Hostages’ Families criticized the deal as a dangerous compromise with a terrorist organization that favors some hostages but fails most of them.
By contrast, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum expressed “overwhelming joy and relief” at the agreement, describing it as a monumental step toward reuniting with their loved ones.
In its statement, the Tikva Forum called on cabinet members who will vote on the deal “to resign immediately, and not be part of a government that betrays dozens of hostages, leaving them in captivity.”
The deal, in which 33 hostages are to be returned in exchange for at least 990 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase, “leaves dozens of hostages behind in Gaza. It also sets the stage for the next massacre and future kidnappings of Israelis,” the Tikva Forum added.
Hamas has 98 hostages in total, according to Israel, and the remaining 64 are to be returned in later phases of the deal through an unspecified procedure, pending the completion of the agreement’s first phase.
In its statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has been more critical of the government than Tikva and advocated making greater concessions to Hamas, wrote that its members “welcome the agreement with overwhelming joy and relief.”
However, the text added, “deep anxiety and concerns accompany us regarding the possibility that the agreement might not be fully implemented, leaving hostages behind.”
