He has not seen daylight for 493 days, said Idit Ohel about her son when she met a press gathering on Monday.
The son Alon Ohel is one of the people still being held captive by the terrorist-stamped Islamist movement Hamas. When a group of hostages was recently released, they could confirm for his mother that he was still alive. They told her that he was chained in a tunnel underground and got only a piece of bread to eat per day.
Shortly after the mother received this news, she was interviewed on an Israeli TV news program, where she cried and appealed to the Israeli government:
After all you have seen, after all the testimonies you have heard from those who survived captivity, how can you let this situation continue?
"Latest by lunch on Saturday"
During the ongoing ceasefire's first phase, Israel and Hamas are to exchange hostages and prisoners in several stages, and some exchanges have already taken place. However, in recent days, the parties have accused each other of violating the ceasefire's terms.
Hamas accuses Israel of making it difficult for Palestinians to return to their homes and for aid shipments to reach them. Therefore, they will not hand over three hostages on Saturday as planned.
If Hamas has not returned the hostages by Saturday lunch, the ceasefire will be broken, and the military will launch intense battles until Hamas is defeated, said Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday – a stance he has also received support for from US President Donald Trump.
Soldier Tamir Nimrodi is also being held hostage, and his mother Herut is shocked by Hamas' message. She is still uncertain whether her son is alive and, if so, whether he will be released in the next phase of the ceasefire.
We are trying to analyze it and think, what are the possibilities? Is this psychological terrorism they (Hamas) are subjecting us to?
Raises demands
Israel's government is also reported to have raised its demands in the process. To allow the ceasefire to move on to the next phase – which initially requires new negotiations – it is said to demand that all hostages be released first. Previously, it was said that this would happen during the second phase, where Israel's military forces are also expected to begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is believed to still be holding more than 70 hostages, but more than 30 of them are thought to be dead.
The current ceasefire in the Gaza war began on January 19 this year and is to last for six weeks.
A key part of the agreement is that Israel releases Palestinian prisoners and other detainees, while Hamas releases people from the hostage group taken in connection with the large-scale attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel is to release a total of around 1,900 people. Exactly how many are released each time is unclear, but it will happen simultaneously with Hamas releasing hostages.
When phase one is over, about 60 Israelis will still be held captive by Hamas. The idea is that they will be released in a new phase of the ceasefire, which will also pave the way for a more long-term calm in the Gaza Strip. But the circumstances for this have not yet been negotiated.
Sources: Haaretz, BBC
