“I have to create a new word to describe it – when joy and anxiety meet,” says Efrat Machikawa.
Her uncle, Gadi Moses, was taken hostage by Hamas fighters from his home in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
But real hope has now been released, after Israel and Hamas they agreed to a Gaza ceasefire and hostilities resolution agreement.
Despite the agreement, which should release all hostages held by Hamas, families are still wary.
“Hope under control” are the words Ms Machikawa used to describe how she felt after hearing the news.
She described the negotiations as a “rollercoaster”.
“We hardly breathe,” she said, adding that she did not know when her uncle would be released.
“I believe Gadi will be fine. It will take time but he will be hugged so warmly and slowly. Together we will get through it.”
In Tel Aviv, a square that has often been full of protesters demanding the release of the guards was empty shortly after the announcement of the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities agreement.
The agreement is expected to be approved by the Israeli cabinet, after which the ceasefire is expected to take place in three phases.
The first phase will last six weeks and will see 33 hosts – including women, children and the elderly – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should release the remaining hostages, withdraw full Israeli troops from Gaza and return to “sustainable calm” – will begin on the 16th.
The third, and final, phase would involve the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of any other host groups.
“We don't know anything. It's scary,” said Yosi Schnaider, cousin of host Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped with her two children and her husband.
“We don't know if they are on the list, if they are going to return in the first grade. If they are alive, if not,” he said.
Nimrod Cohen was only 19 years old when he was kidnapped by Hamas (Getty Images)
Yehuda Cohen, the father of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas, said: “I don't have time to feel.”
“I can be Nimrod's father once Nimrod is back here,” he said.
“I haven't spoken to him for 15 months, I've seen him, I've heard him… I'm fighting to get back to being Nimrod's father.”
According to BBC Verify, 94 of the 251 hostages taken on 7 October 2023 are still being held in Gaza – 60 are believed to be alive and 34 dead.
Some 109 hostages have already been released through negotiations, either on humanitarian grounds or during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023.
Eight hostages were rescued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF has recovered the remains of 40 hostages from Gaza. This includes three hostages who were accidentally killed by the IDF on December 15, 2023.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist group by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 one person was killed and 251 others were taken hostage. .
More than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Most of the population of 2.3 million have also disappeared, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as a result of the struggle to get aid to those in need.
Additional commentary by George Wright
