The families of hostages freed from Gaza over the weekend, the latest release in the ceasefire deal, described difficult conditions — including rarely seeing the sun — during their captivity.
The six-week first phase of the truce calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, as well as the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.
Israel and Hamas are beginning to negotiate a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.
More than 545,000 Palestinians have crossed in northern Gaza, UN says
More than 545,000 Palestinians are estimated to have crossed from southern Gaza to northern Gaza in the past week since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect, the United Nations says.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Monday that the U.N. and its humanitarian partners also report that over 36,000 people have been observed moving from northern Gaza to the south during the same period.
In North Gaza, U.N. partners said three temporary sites that have been established in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and Jabalya, each capable of holding 5,000 people.
As more humanitarian aid enters Gaza and the ceasefire continues to hold, Dujarric said U.N. partners report that prices have started to fall, though they remain about pre-conflict levels.
“One-third of households reportedly have better access to food, but consumption remains significantly below levels prior to the escalation of hostilities,” he said. “For most households, the primary obstacle is just lack of cash.”
Meanwhile, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher arrived Monday for a weeklong visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Dujarric said. He is expected to visit the West Bank and Gaza Strip and meet with senior officials to see first-hand “and get a better understanding of the obstacles facing aid partners, and also look at how to best and improve our humanitarian operations.”
Hostage endured ‘psychological torture,’ sister says
The family of Yarden Bibas, a hostage who was released from captivity Saturday, said he was held in very difficult conditions and subject to “ongoing psychological torture,” according to his sister said Monday from the hospital where he is recovering in Tel Aviv.
He has lost significant weight and muscle mass because of the conditions, including rarely seeing the sun, Ofri Bibas-Levy said.
Yarden Bibas was kidnapped separately from his wife, Shiri Bibas, and his two children, Ariel and Kfir, who were 4 years old and 9 months old when they were kidnapped. Kfir was the youngest of about 30 children taken hostage on October 7, and the infant with red hair and a toothless smile became a symbol across Israel.
“Since he was released, he has asked just one question: Where are Shiri and the children?” said Dana Silberman-Sitton, the sister of Shiri Bibas.
Bibas-Levy also pleaded for Israel and the US to continue the negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire.
American-Israeli hostage spent long periods in isolation, daughter says
American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, who was released from captivity Saturday, spent long periods alone, rarely saw sunlight and was given very little food, causing him to lose a drastic amount of weight, his daughter said Monday night from the hospital in Tel Aviv where her father is recuperating.
Shir Siegel added that her father insisted Monday on knowing what happened to Kibbutz Kfar Aza during Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack.
“We had to go over a cruel and long list of 64 people, dear to us and loved, and he could not understand that so many of his friends were murdered,” Siegel said.
Aviva Siegel, Keith Siegel’s wife, who was also kidnapped and released in the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023, thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for help negotiating the ceasefire and pleaded with him to ensure the next stage of the ceasefire will take place.
“The hardest part is ahead of us, and I trust you to see this deal through because it’s the road to healing for all of us,” she said, in a message to both the Israeli and American governments.
Opposition leader says ceasefire won’t bring down Netanyahu government
Israel’s opposition leader says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will not fall over the continuation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that brings about the return of more hostages.
Yair Lapid spoke Monday, the day before Netanyahu was to meet with Trump at the White House to discuss the truce. His remarks aimed to prevent Netanyahu from citing domestic political pressure as a reason for resuming the war.
Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have vowed to quit the government if he does not resume the war after the first phase ends in early March. Their departure would significantly raise the chances of early elections in which Netanyahu could be voted out.
Lapid, speaking from an Israeli community near the border that was devastated by Hamas’ attack, said “Netanyahu has a political safety net from the opposition for the deal, for every stage.”
“The deal has the overwhelming support of the people of Israel, and the deal has the overwhelming support of the Knesset of Israel,” he added, referring to Israel’s parliament.
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