As Israel prepares for the next phase of a hostage deal, Itay Dekel-Chen, the brother of Sagui-Dekel Chen – who is expected to soon be freed – expressed his anticipation while lamenting the growing divide over the negotiations.
“The stark polarization in the discourse surrounding the deal and the return of the hostages is troubling,” Itay said. “Reality is more complex, and we need to approach it with a more clear-eyed perspective than what we hear in the usual debate. Both sides have a point. We must bring everyone home, but at the same time, this comes at a heavy price, with serious future security risks. There is the sanctity of life and the sanctity of our people and land. If we only choose one side, we won’t have much left here.”
He added: “If, as a people and a nation, we can find a way to secure the hostages’ release while maintaining strength and full trust in our security forces, perhaps we can emerge from this with a sense of victory. I’m not saying it’s easy – it requires deep and strategic thinking. I live in a world of both. I grew up in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and today I live in the religious moshav of Zimrat. I was raised in a kibbutz and now live in a moshav. We must find a middle path here as well. With the right discourse and effort, we can find common ground — maybe through dialogue with the Americans, maybe through long-term strategies —but alongside the fight to bring the hostages home, we must also avoid tearing our society apart or creating internal crises.”
Alongside the fight to bring the hostages home, we must also avoid tearing our society apart or creating internal crises
Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was abducted from Nir Oz on October 7, is also an American citizen. His family has worked tirelessly to advocate for his release, lobbying U.S. officials for intervention.
His wife, Avital, recalled the horrifying moments before he was taken. “Sagui was kidnapped from our home while I was in the safe room with our two daughters, seven months pregnant,” she told lawmakers at the Knesset. “Before he was taken, he stepped into the safe room and said: ‘There’s no way out of this alive. The army isn’t coming.’ He didn’t want the girls to understand, so he said in English, ‘Milly, this is the end.’”
Avital had hoped for a miracle — that Sagui would return in time to be by her side for the birth of their third child. But he never came home. Their daughter Shachar was born without a father. More than a year has passed, and Sagui has missed her first birthday, as well as the daily lives of his two other daughters, Bar and Gali, who wait for him at home.
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At a rally calling for the hostages’ release, Avital spoke about the toll on their family. “Sagui and the others are, first and foremost, fathers to young children who need them every day,” she said. “These children endure daily trauma simply from knowing their father is being held by terrorists.”