The families of the American hostages in Gaza issued a statement in response to the reports an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a phased release of all of the hostages has been reached. “We are deeply grateful that there is finally an agreement between Israel and Hamas to bring our loved ones — Omer, Edan, Sagui, Itay, Keith, Gad, and Judi — home. We have been waiting for 467 days while our family members suffer from life-threatening injuries, abuse, torture, and sexual violence. We thank President Biden, President-elect Trump, and their teams for their constructive efforts to make this possible," the families stated. "The tireless collaboration between Israel, Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and other parties was critical in reaching this moment. The coming days and weeks will be just as painful for our families as the entirety of our loved ones' horrific ordeals. That is why we ask all parties to stay committed to this agreement, every phase until it is fully implemented and everyone has been returned. We feel hopeful that under President Trump’s leadership, every last hostage will come home,” they said. Related articles: Captivity survivor blasted online after criticizing Netanyahu I don't understand why Israel gave up Gaza 'Egyptian ceasefire proposal is not acceptable' 'We endured hell, every minute is torture for remaining hostages' Earlier this evening, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported that a senior US official has told him that a hostage and ceasefire deal has been reached. 33 of the 98 hostages in Gaza are expected to be released over the course of the first stage of the hostage deal. Reuters reported that Israel will release 30 terrorists in exchange for every civilian hostage who is released by Hamas and 50 terrorists in exchange for every female soldier who is released by Hamas. In addition, Israel will release all Palestinian Arab women and children under the age of 19 who have been detained since October 7th before the end of the first phase. The total number of released terrorists depends on the number of hostages who will be released and can reach between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian Arab detainees, including men, women, and children. Negotiations on the second phase of the deal will begin before the 16th day of the first phase. The second phase is expected to include the release of the remaining living hostages, including soldiers, and a permanent ceasefire. The third phase is expected to include the remaining bodies of the deceased hostages and the beginning of the rebuilding of Gaza, under Egyptian, Qatari, and UN supervision.
