For more than a decade, the world seemed to have forgotten about Abela Mengistu.
Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli Jew who reportedly suffered from mental health problems, was 28 when he voluntarily entered the Gaza Strip on September 7, 2014, after an argument with his mother. It was.
Mistaken for an Israeli soldier and a spy, Mengistu was captured by Hamas and held in a prison in the territory. Since then, his whereabouts have remained a mystery and he has appeared sporadically in Hamas videos demanding his release. His family claimed that the Israeli military and government did not actually try to bring him back.
Everything changed on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a brutal attack that killed 1,200 people and abducted another 250 inside Israel. Since then, Mengistu's family has joined forces with other Israeli hostage families in their fight for Mengistu's release. occupied by Hamas.
People to be handed over on Friday after the Israeli government approved a cease-fire agreement that exchanged 33 hostages held in Gaza with Palestinians in Israeli prisons and suspended the 15-month war for an initial six weeks. A list containing the names of Reports that he was released by an extremist group are being circulated on major Israeli news sites. The list also included Mengistu's name.
“I can't remember the last time we talked or even the last time I saw him,” said his cousin Gil Elias. observer. “My heart beats at 200bpm and my stomach flips. For 10 years we've been waiting for this moment to come and it never came and now it's finally here. It's happening. I know he's still alive.”
“He should have been here a long time ago,” Elias added. “But he is not to blame for government inaction.”
Caught between hope and despair for the past 15 months, Elias's hopes, and those of other hostages' relatives, have been raised and dashed numerous times since the October 2023 attack. Over the past few months, every time a deal seemed close, it quickly fell apart.
“The government didn't do enough to bring him back when it was actually possible,” Elias said. “They didn't want to pay the price to bring him back, and they weren't allowed to talk about it at all because they couldn't put pressure on the government at the time because of censorship.”
As Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer to an agreement, families of Israeli hostages have expressed cautious optimism in recent weeks that their loved ones may soon be freed.
Adam Marnit writes, “There have been times in the past when people have been seduced by the alluring prospect of an impending deal and then had it taken away from them, raising their hopes to stratospheric levels only to be plunged onto the rock of despair.'' “It was,” he said. His cousin Tzachi Idan, 50, was taken hostage from the Nahal Oz kibbutz.
Relatives of prisoners of war in Gaza have taken to the streets of Israel's major cities every weekend for more than a year, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring their loved ones home.
But their families argued that their return, which was supposed to be the main objective of the conflict from the beginning, had gradually become less of a focus. Instead, Netanyahu's government waged one of the bloodiest wars in recent history aimed at eradicating Hamas.
Israeli military operations and bombings have not only caused the deaths of more than 46,500 Palestinians, but also endangered the lives of hostages trapped in Gaza, some of whom died at the hands of Israeli forces. Some people did.
In November 2023, Hamas released 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons during a brief ceasefire. Of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas, 94 are believed to be still being held in Gaza. Israeli and Western intelligence agencies estimate that at least a third of them have died.
“Every day I fear the worst,” said Rabbi Moshe Emilio, whose brother-in-law Omri Milan is also a hostage. observer. “Time has long since run out. The international community has completely failed. Our government has failed by not prioritizing their release sufficiently.”
The turning point comes as the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump approaches, having vowed from the outset that a cease-fire agreement must be reached before taking office. The will of President Trump and the administration of current President Joe Biden, who have been trying to find an agreement for more than a year, has prompted the two sides to accelerate the process toward an agreement.
The Israeli government ratified the deal on Friday after an unexpected delay that sparked fears that a last-minute disagreement between Israel and Hamas would scrap the deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that a ceasefire would not proceed unless Israel receives the names of the hostages who will be released as agreed.
In the first phase of the deal, which will last 42 days, Hamas will take 33 hostages, including children, women (including female soldiers), and men over 50, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. agreed to release.
Releases will occur in stages. Three Israeli hostages were released on Sunday, four more were released on the seventh day, and will be released again at the end of each week of the ceasefire period.
Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, another mentally disabled Israeli man who entered Gaza 10 years ago and has since been held hostage by Hamas, will be released in exchange for 30 other prisoners.
The second phase would involve the repatriation of the remaining surviving hostages, the release of a corresponding proportion of Palestinian prisoners, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory. Details are subject to further negotiations, which are expected to begin within 16 days of the start of the first phase.
The third phase will feature the exchange of bodies of deceased hostages and Hamas members, and will begin plans to rebuild Gaza. Arrangements regarding the Strip's future governance remain vague.
Analysts and political observers remain skeptical that all steps of the ceasefire agreement will be fully implemented. Families are acutely aware that the long-awaited agreement for the return of their loved ones remains fragile, and one misstep could plunge Gaza back into chaos.
In a statement on Thursday, the Family Committee said it “urgently calls for a quick deal to ensure that all stages of the agreement are implemented, and emphasizes that the next stage of negotiations must begin by the 16th day”. “I will.” “This is just the first step. We will not stop until the last hostage is returned.”
Relatives of those still detained in Gaza fear the deal will be blocked by the far-right parties of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, who have refused to accept it until Hamas is completely defeated.
Far-right members of Israel's coalition government have already threatened to resign, potentially derailing months of efforts to end the conflict.
Before Friday's vote, Netanyahu's hardline national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir made a last-minute plea to other parliamentarians to vote against the deal. “We all know that these terrorists will try to harm again and kill again,” he said.
Israeli media reported that Ben Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of one of the hard-line nationalist religious parties in the ruling coalition, derailed the agreement at one point during the ceasefire, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume bombing. It was reported that there is a possibility that Ben Gvir threatened to resign on Monday.
“They are using the hostage trade because they have other interests, such as re-establishing settlements in northern Gaza,” Rabi said. “We can only hope that the government does not make unwise decisions this time.”
Meanwhile, Sunday is more than just a day of celebration for the families of the hostages. Relatives of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons are anxiously awaiting the release of their loved ones.
About 100 of the Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release are serving life sentences for acts of violence against Israelis. Some have been jailed for minor offenses, such as posting on social media, and others have been placed in administrative detention, which allows individuals to be preemptively arrested based on unreleased evidence.
Israel's Ministry of Justice has released a partial list of 95 prisoners who will be released in the first phase of the deal.
According to a copy of the contract reviewed by authorities: observerNine disabled Israelis will be released in exchange for 110 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli prisons.
Men over the age of 50 on the list of 33 hostages will be released at a ratio of 1:3 in exchange for life sentences, and 1:27 for other sentences.
According to figures released by Israeli NGO Hamoked, there were 10,221 Palestinians in Israeli prisons as of January 2025. Approximately 3,376 of these people are in administrative detention, while 1,886 are classified as “illegal combatants” and are allowed to be detained without charge or trial. The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli government say the measures comply with international law.
Palestinians have long argued that imprisonment is a key element of Israel's 57-year occupation. According to various estimates, up to 40% of Palestinian men have been arrested at least once in their lifetime.
Ahmed Mahmoud Abu Glous, 66, is the father of Ahmed Abu Glous, who was arrested in 2004 on suspicion of killing Israelis in a Hamas-claimed attack on Jerusalem settlements.
“My son was 18 years old at the time. He had been in prison for 21 years,” the father said. “We follow the news every hour, every minute.”
Abu Ghurs added: “I hope that all Palestinian prisoners of war, like the Israeli hostages, are freed and reunited with their loved ones. I am a father and I understand what it means to be separated from my children. I know that every human being is valuable to those they love.”
Jamal Risheq contributed to this report
