After accusing Netanyahu of putting his future over the hostages, families hope for change

Among those at Hostage Square on Wednesday was Jimmy Miller, whose cousin Shiri Bibas was taken hostage from kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, along with her husband, Yarden Bibas, and their sons, Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 1. 

“This Saturday, Kfir will be 2,” Miller, 48, told NBC News in Tel Aviv. “This kid never celebrated his birthday with his family, with his parents. It’s a terrible thing to think about.” 

Kfir may well be among the 33 hostages set to be released by Hamas during the first phase of the deal, which is set to come into effect Sunday if it is approved by Netanyahu and his government. 

Israel said Thursday that its Cabinet will not meet to approve the deal, claiming that Hamas was creating a “last-minute crisis” and reneging on the truce agreed Wednesday, but Netanyahu’s office did not elaborate on what Hamas had done.

Hamas said it was “committed to the ceasefire agreement.”

Despite having had their hopes dashed before, the families of the hostages remained cautiously optimistic that they would see their loved ones again.

Rita Lifshitz’s 84-year-old father-in-law, Oded Lifshitz, may also be among those freed — children and the elderly are likely to make up a significant proportion of those initially freed. 

“It’s a lot of emotional feelings around this,” Rita Lifshitz, 59, said in a WhatsApp voice message late Thursday. “So many things can happen until the last hostages will be released,” she added. 

Oded, a human rights and peace activist, was taken from kibbutz Niz Or with his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was freed in October 2023, after 17 days in Hamas captivity.

“We do not know if we will come back alive or in a box,” Rita Lifshitz said, adding that she hoped the deal would be agreed to in Israel and that the relatives of the freed captives could share in the happiness. 

For some families, though, the deal is too little too late.

Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was killed in Gaza, said Thursday that he had mixed feelings about the deal and that he was “sad for the fact Carmel could have been here and she’s not.” 

Gat, a 40-year-old occupational therapist from Tel Aviv, was kidnapped from her parents’ home in kibbutz Be’eri. Her body was recovered from Gaza by the Israeli military in August.   

Dickmann also questioned why a deal similar to the one currently on the table wasn’t approved in May.  

Gat “was supposed to be part of [that] deal. And they didn’t sign it in time, so she’s not because she was murdered in captivity,” he said.

“But on the other hand,” he added. “I’m just here with my fellow family members of hostages and we’re celebrating — we are because this news is so good.”

Gabe Joselow and Chantal Da Silva reported from Tel Aviv, and Henry Austin from London.