Hostages’ families ‘filled with trepidation’ ahead of ceasefire deal

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Hostages’ families ‘filled with trepidation’ ahead of ceasefire deal
Author: Ellie Ng
Published: Jan, 19 2025 00:01

Families of British-linked hostages have said they are “filled with trepidation” ahead of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel coming into effect. The agreement, expected to come into force at 6.30am GMT (8.30am local time), will mean a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war with Hamas.

Image Credit: The Standard

It was approved by Israel’s Cabinet early on Saturday morning after weeks of negotiations in Qatar. Adam Ma’anit, who lives in Brighton, said his cousin Tsachi Idan is on the list of hostages set to be released in the opening phase of the truce, and spoke of his cautious hope for his safe return.

The 51-year-old told the PA news agency: “I think I’m feeling every spectrum of human emotion all at once, in the sense that I am incredibly anxious, filled with trepidation, but also optimism. “But I can’t allow myself to be overly invested in that optimism because we’ve been here before where a deal seemed imminent and things were looking up and our hopes and dreams and desires were about to be coming true, and our loved ones returned to us, and then we would have them crashed down into the reality of collapsed negotiations and the grim prospect of months more uncertainty.

“So I think it’s important to be sanguine about the deal and realise that it could potentially happen, but not to be overly invested in it so much that we hurt ourselves mentally.”. Mr Idan, who will be 51 in April, witnessed his eldest daughter’s murder before he was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 2023.

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