A deal was reached between Israel and Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The belligerents must also observe a four-day truce. The negotiations for this agreement, involving Qatar in particular, were tedious. And very trying for the families concerned.
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This is the agreement that all of Israel was waiting for: the release of some of the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7. Thirteen Israeli hostages were released and taken care of by the Red Cross on Friday, November 24, according to a statement by ICRC spokesperson Frédéric Joli on franceinfo. In total, the Red Cross announced “the safe release of 24 hostages”. Among them are ten Thai hostages and one Filipino hostage, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry. In exchange for the 24 hostages, Israel released 39 women and children held in its prisons, according to the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
Two days earlier, the world’s media announced the conclusion of the agreement: 50 Israeli hostages against 150 Palestinian detainees in Israel in both cases of women and minors with a four-day break in the fighting in Gaza.
Having been stationed in Jerusalem for four years until last summer, I know well that in the Middle East, even more than elsewhere, we only believe what we see. This is the case once again: the agreement supposed to come into force on Thursday is effective the next day, Friday November 24 at 6 a.m. (Paris time) with the suspension of fighting in the Palestinian enclave. Nine hours later, the process of freeing 13 Israeli hostages began. They leave through Egypt then are transferred by helicopter to six Israeli hospitals.
Families in full doubt until the end
As in the Hatoufim series which tells the story of the return to the country of two captive soldiers, Israel remained suspended for days… The families are torn apart, Benjamin Thuau and Valentin Dunate tell us. Yaelle, cousin of Hadas Caldéron whose children Erez and Sahar (12 and 16 years old) are hostages, is crushed by this wait: “For the moment we don’t believe it until they come back, we don’t want to believe it.”
“Since the beginning of the week, it’s been like a roller coaster, one time it’s yes, one time it’s no. So we’ll see if any hostages will really be released.”
Yaelle, mother of two hostage children
For her part, Efrat knows very well that her cousin Omer is not on the list but she continues to believe it while worrying about Omer’s health who must receive medication. But for the moment, Hamas still refuses to allow NGOs to visit the hostages who will not be released: “Indeed, I heard that it was a problem but it is the role of the Israeli government to push. I expect it to do its best so that the humanitarian organizations can go and see how they are doing.”
Willy Moreau, another Radio France reporter sent to Israel, witnessed this unbearable wait. Back from Tel Aviv, he leaves us a voicemail.
Voice note from Willy Moreau
Among the Palestinians, we are also waiting. Under the rule of one Israeli hostage for every three Palestinian detainees, 39 prisoners held in Israeli prisons are to be released, if all goes well. But the modalities are still unclear. On the list of people released – who have not committed murder – we find some emblematic ones among the Palestinians, Alice Froussard explains to us in Ramallah. This is the case of Israa Jaabice. Since 2015, this 38-year-old mother has been behind bars, convicted of having exploded a bottle of cooking gas in her car 500 meters from a checkpoint, injuring a soldier. Israel accuses her of terrorism while she has always pleaded an accident, recalls Thaer Shreteh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners Committee: “During the explosion, 65% of his body suffered first and third degree burns. And according to reports from Israeli doctors in prison, she needed nine surgeries.” But the inmate was only allowed to do two. His release is therefore a matter of vital urgency, judge Shatha Odeh, one of his former fellow prisoners: “It’s not a decorative operation, or cosmetic surgery, it’s just so she can use her hands. She challenged it in court, but she lost.”
The central role of Qatar
Obviously, Israel and Hamas did not negotiate this agreement face to face. The two belligerents used a number of intermediaries, starting with the United States, Egypt and especially Qatar. Moreover, it was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar which announced the terms during a press conference. The emirate shares the same ideology from the Muslim Brotherhood with Hamas and generously finances the movement, which is nevertheless classified as terrorist by the United States, the European Union and Israel. Qatar also hosts some of the political leaders of Hamas on its soil but it also dialogues with Israel even if it does not officially recognize it. So the director of Mossad made numerous trips to Doha to negotiate.
Rami’s voice note
Seen from Gaza, the truce is a blessing. From Rafah where he took refuge, Rami Abou Jammus recounts the cautious relief of Gazan civilians. He also judges that Hamas has won in its standoff with Israel. From Jerusalem, Yaëlle Ifrah notes that this agreement has divided Israeli society. For this specialist in Israeli society, former advisor to the Israeli Parliament and today a high-tech entrepreneur, “in Israel, we consider the price to be paid for the return of the hostages to be negligible. For a soldier Gilad Shalit, we had released 1,500 Palestinian detainees. So three prisoners for one hostage returned is not a high price to pay. But public opinion public has split in two according to a survey by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). Some fear that the war will stop, others do not trust the government and fear that it will “There will be no further attempts to recover other hostages.”
In this episode: Benjamin Thuau, Valentin Dunate, Willy Moreau, Rami Abou Jammus, Yaëlle Ifrah
On air: Anne Depelchin
Technique: Geoffroy Baccialonne
Production: Frédéric Métézeau