Source : the age
Days of anticipation have consumed Rose Elhelou and her family, ever since news emerged of an imminent ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. They are not yet over.
The Palestinian family, who fled from Gaza to Sydney seven months ago, messaged relatives in the hours after a deal was finally brokered on Thursday. “They say bombardment hasn’t stopped,” Elhelou said.
The Elhelou family fled Gaza in June and now live in outer Sydney: (from left) Islam, Rose, Ruqaia, Mohammed, three-year-old Ameer and Elham.Credit: Louie Douvis
“There are three more days before the ceasefire commences. These three days are very dangerous, and very horrifying.”
As Palestinians and Israelis in Australia on Thursday woke to news a three-part agreement would commence on Sunday after 15 months of conflict, there was a sense of relief – a dash of hope. But trepidation and grief were the heaviest of many people’s feelings.
“Palestinians, Gazans especially, will not be able to celebrate this. All of us have lost our homes, our work, our relatives. Many lives have been lost. Many families have been wiped out,” Elhelou said.
Zack Shachar, an Israeli-Australian citizen whose cousin Naama Levy was taken hostage by Hamas in October 2023, is also unsure. The last sign of life from his relative came 10 months ago. Every Sunday he reads out the names of all hostages from a different location around Sydney, “to make sure no one forgets about it”.
He’s woken through the night all week, anticipating an update.
Zack Shachar’s
cousin Naama Levy, a 20-year-old IDF soldier, was abducted on October 7, 2023.Credit: Steven Siewert
“The last couple of days have been full of stress, whether they were going to sign a deal or not. I was checking the news in the middle of the night, waking up every few hours, then this morning [it happened],” he said.
“It gives us a little bit of hope … but anything could happen,” Shachar said. “With Hamas, you can get a sign of life, they can tell you one thing, and five minutes after it can be a completely different situation. No one really knows.
“We are waiting to see Naama back home. Until we see that, it’s still the same thing for us.”
That feeling is familiar to Melbourne man Dan Monheit, whose relative Margalit Moses was released unexpectedly after 49 days in Hamas’ underground tunnels after being abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz. Now his family hopes her ex-husband, Gadi, in his 80s, will be released as part of the ceasefire deal.
Dan Monheit’s relative Margalit Moses was released after 49 days by Hamas. Now he’s waiting for Margalit’s ex-husband Gadi to be free.Credit: Chas Mackinnon
Under the terms of the reported ceasefire agreement, 33 hostages will be released in the first 42 days. There are about 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza of about 250 initially seized, but it is unknown how many are still alive.
As part of the ceasefire, Israel will allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, withdraw its troops from parts of the enclave, and release Palestinian prisoners. The second stage of the ceasefire is intended to include a more permanent end to the war that has claimed about 46,000 Palestinian lives according to the Gaza health ministry and began after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that killed about 1200 Israelis.
Monheit said news of the ceasefire created a “very strange feeling”. “In one regard, you feel relief and joy … but there have been moments where it felt close before. So there’s this sort of trepidation of not letting yourself get too happy or excited until our family have crossed the border and are actually in safe arms,” he said.
Monheit will not celebrate yet. His family’s lives have been on hold for 15 months while campaigning for Gadi’s release.
“But we don’t know if he’s alive or dead. This is part of the psychological torture these organisations inflict on us. He was in a proof of life video some months ago, but we’ve got no idea,” he said.
The father-of-two said he was also feeling dread about the future security of his family and of Israel due to what he said was a terrible deal because Palestinian prisoners would be released too.
Melbourne woman Keren Zelwer, who has been advocating for the release of all hostages, also had mixed feelings after a restless night on Wednesday. “It’s a great thing that’s happening, that they’re coming home. But we still have heavy hearts,” Zelwer said.
“It’s not a perfect deal, we would love to see them released all at once … but this is the deal that’s available, and I do think it needs to be taken.
“We’re not giving up until we get them all home, we’re not going to stop advocating. So it’s not over.”
Palestinian woman Hadil Albarqi had stopped waiting up for news about a possible ceasefire because she had lost hope it would happen.
Palestinian woman Hadil Albarqi has been in Australia for four years. Her mother and brother remain in Gaza.Credit: Jason South
“It’s been going on for a long time, all these ceasefire talks. And they always fail. You get your hopes up, and then it just fails,” she said.
Albarqi was overwhelmed when she awoke in Melbourne, where she has lived for four years to study, thinking of her mother and brother in Khan Younis.
“You’re kind of relieved that hopefully there is no more killing. People get to rest and breathe again. And maybe it’s just the beginning of something better. But at the same time: at what cost? With all the loss, the pain and everything, you can’t celebrate or enjoy the news,” Albarqi said.
Albarqi said her mother did not intend to leave Gaza, despite everything. “This is where she lived all of her life, and this is her home,” she said.
But they don’t know what that will look like. “The situation is disastrous.”
For other Palestinian families, even though an end to the conflict could be ahead, returning home is not. Rami Tarazi, who arrived in Sydney with his wife, son and parents last June, hoped Thursday’s news meant his extended family would soon be able to join them.
Their homes in Gaza were destroyed and his in-laws and sisters have been sheltering in a church, while the children have been forced to suspend their education.
“We call them daily, to make sure they are breathing and they’re still alive,” he said. His own trigger to flee was the struggle to find formula milk cans for his son, now aged two.
“We hope all my family members come here to Australia, and to someday go back to our country, but all we have has vanished during this war. I bought a unit two years ago and it was destroyed completely.”
Elhelou has abandoned any hopes of returning. “When we left, we had lost everything, and my story is the same as many others” she said.
“For me, I have been in Australia for seven months, I have begun accreditation for my pharmacy degree. Here, I’m starting a new life.
“The pharmacy I had built for 10 years was completely destroyed. All the infrastructure in Gaza is destroyed. For me and my family, we feel that Australia is our home now.”
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
