The terrified families of Israelis being held captive in Gaza are calling on US President Donald Trump to stop the ceasefire deal from collapsing and have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of purposely sabotaging the agreement.
Though Hamas has regularly released captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees since a ceasefire in Gaza took hold on 19 January, the fragile deal is now in serious danger.
Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod has been held in Gaza since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, is now in Washington trying to convince officials to keep the agreement on track.
“Netanyahu always sabotages the deal,” he told Middle East Eye, “whether by ordering soldiers to fire on Gazans who are approaching the perimeter or by the issue of humanitarian aid.”
Trump has caused chaos in recent days by declaring that the United States should take over the enclave and all its 2.2 million Palestinians should be permanently expelled.
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Meanwhile, Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement, hindered aid and shown little evidence that it is serious about negotiations that would end the war and free all the captives.
After Hamas called on Israel to keep to the terms of the deal if it wanted the next tranche of captives released on Saturday as usual, Netanyahu and Trump threatened “all hell will break loose” unless all the living captives are released instead.
Furious relatives of the captives on Tuesday gathered outside the prime minister’s Jerusalem residence – which is situated on Gaza Street – to demand Netanyahu upholds the ceasefire deal and ensures the war does not reignite.
Many believe Netanyahu is happy for the ceasefire to collapse to please his far-right allies in government and set the stage for Israeli settlements in Gaza. The protesters say they will not leave until all the captives are freed.
‘Our hope is that behind the scenes, Trump also told Netanyahu that he should continue with the deal’
– Yehuda Cohen, captive’s father
Cohen welcomed any pressure on the Israeli authorities.
“We always call on the public to help in the protest. Any demonstration or roadblock is welcome,” he said.
Despite the aggressive rhetoric from Trump and Netanyahu, who set a 12pm deadline for all the captives to be released on Saturday, Cohen believes the first phase of the deal will continue as planned.
According to the deal, Hamas will release 33 out of the 100 remaining captives in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. So far 21 Israelis have been freed.
The second stage of the deal would see another prisoner exchange and a permanent end to the war, the details of which negotiators should be thrashing out now.
Cohen’s son would be released in the second phase. He hopes that Trump’s stance is a negotiation ploy.
“Our hope is that behind the scenes, Trump also told Netanyahu that he should continue with the deal, but the feelings are confusing, and the prophecies were given to fools,” he said.
Growing anger and fear
Anger with Netanyahu is growing among the captives’ families.
When the last three Israelis were released by Hamas on Saturday, their gaunt faces and dramatic weight loss while held in Gaza, which has been intentionally starved by the Israeli military, shocked the public.
Einav Tsengauker, whose son Matar is a captive, responded to the scenes by posting a furious video on social media that quickly went viral.
“Netanyahu, do you see what the released look like? Whoever doesn’t get out of there now won’t survive the inferno. We must implement the agreement in full,” she said.
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“For months we have been shouting that they are being starved and being abused,” she added, accusing him of “trying to thwart the negotiations” for the second stage of the deal.
According to Cohen, the families who pushed for the deal are now pushing even harder in that direction.
But, he noted, some belonged to the national-religious right and “want to stop humanitarian aid and remain loyal to Netanyahu”, and so are pulling in the opposite direction.
Yifat Calderon’s cousin Ofer returned from captivity two weeks ago.
“I’m very worried about the collapse of the agreement,” she told MEE.
Like many freed captives, Ofer has called for all those remaining to be freed as soon as possible.
Calderon believes this needs to be done without any further bloodshed. Already, 92 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza since the truce began.
“President Trump is right, we have to release everyone now without steps and without stages,” she said.
“But this has to be done in an agreement that includes the cessation of the war and the withdrawal from Gaza.”
