From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Families of 1st-phase hostages not included in upcoming releases say they’re left in the dark
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleA relative of one of the Gaza hostages who is neither on the list of slain captives slated for release Thursday nor among those expected to be freed alive on Saturday says authorities haven’t contacted them, leaving them in the dark and with grave concern about their loved ones’ fate.
Israel and Hamas have named the four dead hostages to be released Thursday as Shiri Silberman Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel Bibas and Kfir Bibas, as well as Oded Lifshitz. Authorities have notified their families.
Both sides have also said that the six live captives slated for return on Saturday are Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham and Omer Shem-Tov. Their families have been notified as well.
According to the ceasefire and hostage deal, the final batch of abductees included in the ongoing first phase of the deal are to be returned on Thursday next week — consisting of four dead hostages.
The last four captives included in the first phase are Shlomo Mantzur, Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Tsahi Idan.
While the IDF has confirmed Mantzur’s death, Israeli authorities have not made any kind of declaration about the other three.
“Only from the media do we know that four hostages who aren’t alive are meant to return tomorrow,” Mor Elgarat, Itzik’s nephew, tells the Ynet news site.
“They said who the six living ones are, and we are forced to conclude things,” he says. “We are given scraps. What should we be preparing for and how? What will happen and when?
“Not speaking with your people is simply abandonment. What are they trying to do, make the fallen hostages disappear?” Mor Elgarat charges, adding that the uncertainty is “terrible and agonizing.”
The Times of Israel Community.