Former Israeli hostages who were freed from Hamas captivity during a week-long humanitarian pause in fighting exactly one year ago Sunday called for immediate action to reach an agreement for the release of those who are still detained.
THE only a truce in progress Israel-Hamas War on November 24, 2023 – less than two months after fighting began – led to the release of 80 Israelis detained by militants in Gaza. They were released in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Since then, repeated efforts by mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States to secure a new truce and the release of the hostages have failed. Qatar earlier this month said it was suspending its mediation role until the warring parties showed “seriousness”.
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Gabriella Leimberg was kidnapped during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and was released with her daughter Mia and sister Clara.
“For 53 days, the only thing that kept me going was that we, the people of Israel, the Jewish people, sanctified life – we left no one behind,” she said .
Leimberg added: “Everything has already been said and now we must act. We don’t have time anymore. »
Around a hundred hostages are still in Gaza, and at least a third are believed to be dead.
“I survived and was lucky to be reunited with all my family,” Leimberg said. “I want and demand this for all the families of the hostages.”
Hamas wants Israel to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel simply offered to suspend its offensive.
The Palestinian death toll from the war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
Danielle Aloni, who was kidnapped with her five-year-old daughter Emelia and released after 49 days, spoke at the ceremony of the “increasing danger” faced every day by those still detained.
She said those still in captivity “suffer physical, sexual and psychological abuse, with their identity and dignity shattered anew every day.”
“It took the Israeli government about two months to reach a deal for me and 80 other Israeli hostages. Why is it taking more than a year to reach another agreement to free them from this hell? asked Aloni, whose brother-in-law, David Cunio, and brother, Ariel Cunio, remain detained.
She stressed that although she and the other hostages gained their freedom a year ago, “we haven’t really left the tunnels,” referring to the underground Hamas tunnels where many hostages were held.
“The feeling of suffocation, the terrible humidity, the stench, these sensations still envelop us,” Aloni said.
“If people could truly understand what it means to be held in inhumane conditions in tunnels, surrounded by terrorists for 54 days, under no circumstances would they allow the hostages to stay there for 415 days! said Raz Ben Ami, who was released as part of the deal a year ago.
Her husband, Ohad, remains among those detained.
Ben Ami called for a ceasefire to “bring back all the hostages as quickly as possible”.