Between fear and hope: Hostages' relatives talk about deal's second phase

Daniel, grandson of hostage Oded Lifshitz, and Alon, father of captive IDF soldier Tamir Nimrodi, talk with Ynet and express their faith in the new deal and frustration that it is taking place so late

Following the release of the three first Israeli hostages as part of the second hostage deal with Hamas on Sunday, 30 additional captives are expected to be released throughout the deal’s first phase including Oded Lifshitz, abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
His grandson Daniel, in an interview with Ynet, described the tension and anxiety he and the rest of the family felt during his more than 15-month captivity and expected return. “Every piece of information has us jumping from the chair. And as much as it was so hard, we've been waiting for that. So I receive it with a blessing and with love. It's much better than looking to the skies and praying or going to Doha and DC or the Knesset,” he said.
A talk with Alon Nimrodi and Daniel Lifshits, relatives of hostages
(Video: Lior Sharon)
When asked if his family is already preparing for Oded’s return as part of the deal, he said: “We've been speaking about it on Friday dinner, but it's very difficult. We don't have a solution on how to prepare for receiving someone either for a festival or for a funeral. So for the moment we are not preparing, it's too hard.”
“Today is the day of new history, also the return of the body of Oron Shaul after more than 10 years and the three hostages that I've seen that Hamas already passed the list to the mediators and to Israel and hopefully, Arbel Yehud will be on the list and we will be able to have that closure and some more families will have closure, but it's unimaginable.”
He also addressed the family’s frustration at the possibility that the deal could have taken place months ago. “If I look back, I think so many things could have happened months ago, I think this phase to release the women, the elderly and the wounded should have been done after a week or two weeks with my grandmother. The world really failed us. This deal could have happened maybe in May or July.”
“We are really lucky that we got [President Donald] Trump because his election changed everything and the work [Mideast envoy Steve] Witkoff has done when he came here over both sides: Prime Minister Netanyahu and from the other side, suddenly the Qataris place much more pressure and from what I've heard, Witkoff and Al Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar, were the main ones that let this deal happen,” he added.
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עמוד מיוחד: החטופים
עמוד מיוחד: החטופים
Oded Lifshitz
When asked how his grandmother Yocheved Lifshitz, who was released in the first hostage deal in November 2023, felt about the new deal, he said, “I think she's surprised that this deal happened. She was very pessimistic. But now when it's starting, she will be so happy to see everyone come home and she's really waiting for the 97 hostages to come home. She will do a countdown until the last one. When the last one will be here, then she can move on mentally.”
Alon Nimrodi, father of captive IDF soldier Tamir Nimrodi, also spoke with Ynet about the current deal and his hopes that his son will return to Israel in the deal’s second phase. “I hope so, but as I said a few months ago, this will be a horrible agreement. And it's a horrible agreement because we didn't discuss all of the hostages. We needed to write all the 98, now 97 names of hostages to bring them back home,” he said.
“The second phase is horrible because we didn't start it nor the first phase. We don't know if there were any violations since the agreements were signed and we still don't know how we’ll proceed with the agreement. The second phase will take a longer time but we hold onto faith,” he added.
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Alon also expressed his frustration over the fact that IDF soldiers taken hostage will remain imprisoned until the deal’s second phase. “We are frustrated because my son and all the hostages were sent by the country, by the army to serve there and nobody cared about them. It's been 471 days and they were left behind even after the last Thai hostages returned home,” he said.
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תמיד נמרודי
תמיד נמרודי
Tamir Nimrodi
“It's a disaster, we can't handle it, it's terrible,” he added. “I don't know how the government can sleep at night with those choices.”
When asked what his message was to decision-makers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: “Bring them back all home now, make agreements, talk about the second phase right now. You must put all the names on the list and stop bullsh*tting us.”
“You must do it. You are talking about human beings. You are talking about the future of the world because all those young people left behind are the future of Israel so you must talk about them right now and bring them back as soon as possible,” he concluded.
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