‘Everyone’s on tenterhooks,’ says cousin of Israeli hostage in Gazapublished at 10:37 Greenwich Mean Time
Image source, FAMILY HANDOUTTsachi Idan, 50, was taken hostage by Hamas gunmen on 7 October 2023 after his daughter was killed during the attack
The cousin of one of the Israeli hostages in Gaza says he is
cautiously optimistic the ceasefire deal will succeed.
Tsachi Idan,50, was taken by Hamas gunmen from his home in Nahal Oz after his
18-year-old daughter Maayan was shot dead during the attack in southern Israel.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Idan’s cousin Adam
Ma’anit – who lives in the UK – says his family have taken news of the deal
with “guarded optimism”.
“I have learnt this past year that no matter how optimistic
one wants to be, it’s important to be cautious,” he says.
“We’ve been here before. We’ve had our hopes raised to
stratospheric levels with the news of possible imminent deals being whispered
and rumoured around and then they all collapse.”
The family last saw Idan in a video posted by Hamas on Telegram
last January and don’t know if he’s still alive.
“He was looking gaunt, dishevelled, pale but alive…that
was the last time we saw him,” Ma’anit says.
“Everyone’s on tenterhooks… I keep checking the family
WhatsApp every minute,” he says.
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