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After 46 days of unrelenting death and misery, there is finally something to celebrate in Israel’s war against Hamas.

Under the deal, approved by Israel’s cabinet on Wednesday, Hamas will free 50 of the 240 hostages it has been holding captive in Gaza since October 7.

Adva Adar’s grandmother Yaffa 85, may be among the hostages set to be released by Hamas in coming days. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Assuming that the deal holds, the hostages – all women and children – will be released over a four-day period in exchange for a pause in fighting. There is scope for the deal to expand: the Israeli government says it will extend the ceasefire by a day for each additional 10 hostages released.

Palestinian civilians will receive respite from Israel’s intense bombing campaign and hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian, medical and fuel aid should be able to enter the Gaza Strip.

Although it will not go far enough for some families of the hostages – the prospect of any men being released still seems far away – the deal is a testament to the tenacity they have shown since their loved ones were kidnapped.

Alarmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to prioritise the return of the hostages in the days after October 7, the relatives of the hostages formed a snap social movement to raise the profile of their plight.

People look at the posters of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 in Tel Aviv, Israel.Credit: Kate Geraghty

The families have run a professionalised and disciplined operation, enlisting public relations experts and hostage negotiation veterans to provide them with advice. They converted the floor of an office building in central Tel Aviv into their headquarters, holding regular press conferences to build political pressure on Netanyahu to strike a deal for their release.

Now the already torturous uncertainty becomes even more agonising, as families feel a surge of hope as they wait to learn whether their loved ones will be among those set free.

Among those who could be released is 85-year-old great-grandmother Yaffa Adar, who was filmed being driven on a golf cart by Hamas terrorists after being kidnapped from her home in a kibbutz in southern Israel.

While reporting in Israel last month, photographer Kate Geraghty and I met Yaffa’s granddaughter Adva, who has been relentlessly campaigning for her grandmother’s release.

Avihai Brodutch’s wife and three children were kidnapped from Kfar. He started the daily vigil pressuring the Israeli government to get the hostages home.Credit: Kate Gergahty

“I don’t know if we will ever be happy like this again,” Adva told us, choking back tears while looking at photos of her family, including Yaffa, who relies on a walking frame to get around and takes daily medication.

Also among those released could be Avihai Brodutch’s wife Hagar and three children (aged four, eight and 10).

A pineapple farmer who had a midlife crisis at 40 and decided to become a nurse, Broduch was spurred to political protest by the desire to be reunited with his wife and children.

“I have no feeling right now. I am totally focussed on my mission” Avihai told us from the hotel near Tel Aviv where he and other survivors of the massacre in the Kfar Aza kibbutz have been living since October 7.

Hostage negotiations usually carry risks and difficult trade-offs. This deal is the result of vigorous negotiations between Israel and Hamas, with Qatar operating as a mediator and heavy involvement from the Biden administration.

Biden has used his influence as the leader of Israel’s closest ally to pressure Netanyahu to strike a deal at the cost of upsetting key members of his far-right governing coalition.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir both oppose the temporary truce, arguing it will give Hamas an opportunity to regroup and will reduce the chance of other hostages, including Israeli soldiers, being released. They argue Netanyahu should have held out for an agreement that involved all the hostages being released.

Under this absolutist strategy, though, the hostages may have never been released and more would have likely died while the fighting continued. Netanyahu has opted for the possible over the perfect, reflecting his track record as a calculating, largely risk-averse pragmatist.

At the other end of the debate, Palestinian-American Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib congresswoman spoke for many when she said the deal did not go far enough and called for a permanent ceasefire agreement.

“When this short-term agreement expires, the bombing of innocent civilians will continue,” Tlaib said. “We need a permanent ceasefire that saves lives, brings all the hostages and those arbitrarily detained home, and puts an end to this horrific violence.”

After the ceasefire is complete, Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas is “eliminated” and Israel does not face a security threat from Gaza.

The nightmare of the war is far from over. But the prospect of 50 innocent civilians being reunited with their families, and more essential aid flowing into Gaza, is no small achievement.

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