The ceasefire deal that is close to being agreed in Gaza has left families of the 98 hostages still held in the enclave facing a mix of hope, apprehension, and, in some cases, anger as negotiators make a final push to seal an agreement.

The draft proposal shared with Israel and Hamas by Qatari mediators would see 33 children, women and older men, as well as sick and wounded hostages, released during the first phase of an extended ceasefire. Israel believes most of the hostages on the list are alive but has not had confirmation from Hamas.

In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released and, if all goes well, negotiators will begin talking about freeing the remaining civilian men and soldiers as well as the bodies of dead hostages as part of a package of measures to end the 15-month war.

“We can’t miss this moment, this is the last moment, we can save them,” said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted along with 251 others when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200, mostly civilians, in the worst attack on Israel in its history.

The attack opened the war in Gaza that has lasted more than a year since then, with tens of thousands of Gazans dying and widespread devastation to the coastal enclave, but only a handful of hostages have escaped or been freed by the Israeli military.

Sahar and Erez were both released in the first hostage-for-prisoner exchange in November 2023 and Ofer, 54, is among those who could be released in the first phase of the new deal.

The last time Ofer’s children saw him, after 52 days in captivity, he was “in very bad condition,” Hadas said.

“I know he’s suffering,” she said. “I dream about that. I feel it in my body. I feel he’s suffering. I feel........

© The Times of Israel