At this moment the ceasefire has not gone into effect, as Hamas have failed to deliver a list of those who are to be released. This is the first step in the deal, and already it has been breached. The families cannot prepared themselves, as no one knows what to prepare themselves for. We do not know who is dead or who is alive and still do not know exactly who will be released.
We are informed that the body of Shaul Oron, killed in 2014, was recovered in a special operation and he has been returned to Israel.
Hamas are confident that the deal is done, as we are seeing images of them openly driving in convoys through Gaza with weapons cementing their control over the area and the people, with no fear from the IDF at this time. They have crawled out of their underground tunnels and we are seeing scenes of victory in the streets. It is estimated in the 15 months of fighting that the IDF have only destroyed, perhaps 40% of the tunnels.
The weekend in Israel was very tense, and people stayed close with family and friends . Even those who don’t usually pray were praying for the release of the hostages . Everyone accepted a final show of defiance, and we were not disappointed with sirens blaring Shabbat morning in the centre, sending millions to the shelters. Perhaps, it was wishful thinking , to enjoy our Shabbat afternoon nap, as no sooner were we sleeping and the sirens sounded in Eilat.
A stabbing took place in the trendy area of Florentine in Tel Aviv. The terrorist was eliminated, but one man was seriously injured.
The night was very noisy with jets overhead from early evening, presumably going to destroy the launch pads of the Houthi that continue to fire on Israel despite being over 2,000 kilometres away, and sharing no borders.
The deal has been met with much trepidation in Israel, as while everyone is desperate for the return of the hostages, the return of thousands of convicted murderers who are servicing multiple life sentences does not sit well with anyone. The sacrifice of the soldiers who risked and gave their lives to round up and arrest those who perpetrated heinous crimes against Israeli civilians is being trashed, but Israel has been backed into a corner and this stands as the only chance of getting the hostages home.
It is reported that 288 released terrorists who have directly murdered people will be sent to a third country , probably Turkey, who support Hamas. We know that 82% of those released in the Gilad Shalit deal returned to terror activities and among those was Sinwar, the architect of October 7th.
There is much criticism of the government not doing this deal in June, as it is virtually the same deal that was on the table since the summer. However, now we have the benefit of hindsight, had we done this deal earlier then we would never have inflicted the damage we did on Hezbollah and Syria would not have fallen, so sadly the hostages paid the price to defeat the threat in the north.
At the time of writing, we have not yet managed to action stage one, so there is little point in discussing stage 2. We will see at 4pm if any hostages are released, but the scenes coming out of Gaza showing armed men in convoys staging a victory parade is sickening and gives one little hope.
Ben Gvir will be resigning from the government if the deal goes ahead. Smotrich is staying on the understanding we will be returning to war once we get our hostages back . It is understood that Biden has given his support to return to war if Hamas threatens Israel, but Trump seems to want the war to finish at any cost.
The IDF is currently withdrawing from areas of Gaza, in the hope that the list or/and the hostages materialise by the end of the day.
This is a very difficult day and we can only wait in prayer and hope.
Kind Regards
Carolyne Davis
Since this report was received, the names have been delivered and 3 female hostages will be released around 4pm GMT..