ReutersA family of an Israeli hostage was released during the weekend, obtaining information about the fate of his wife and children.
Yarden Pepas, 34, was, It was released on Saturday Along with two other hostages that Hamas is holding, compared to 183 Palestinian prisoners, Israel has seized, as part of the ceasefire deal in Gaza.
His wife Sherry and his young son, Ariel and Kafir were also kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attack.
Hamas claimed in November 2023 that they were killed in an Israeli air strike, without providing evidence. The Israeli army did not confirm the report.
“The family no longer accepts uncertainty,” Sherry Dana Silberman Setton's sister told reporters at the Shiba Hospital in central Israel.
Reuters“We ask for answers. We ask her to return,” she added, as she accused the “failure to protect” her family.
Sherry, 33, Kafr and Ariel, five -year -old, was named after Yarden on the list of 33 Israeli hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first stage of the ceasefire deal, which will last for six weeks.
However, the Israeli army spokesman said last month that he was “very concerned” about his well -being.
KFIR was only nine months old when he was kidnapped, which is smaller than 251 hostages delayed by Hamas.
“The state has failed for approximately 16 months to return it to the house,” said Ms. Silberman Citton.
She added: “The responsibility of the government and the state falls on Sherry, Ariel and Kafir, to Yarden, Lee and our entire family, and to all citizens of Israel.”
“My brother returned, but my sister is in my husband and my brother's sons. Yarden asked about them and I have no answers to him.”
“We have searched for them for a long time,” said Gal Hirsch, the hostage coordinator of the government.
ReutersA spokesman for the Israeli government said on January 27 that eight of the 26 hostages, which are scheduled to be launched during the first phase of the ceasefire deal, had died, citing a list of Hamas commensurate with Israeli intelligence.
He said that their families had been informed but did not call them.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog described Mr. Pipas's return as “simply tragic”, saying that his country has been “very concerned” about their fate.
The Israeli Americans, Keith Siegel, and the Israeli -French Calderon were the other two hostages held by Hamas, which was released on Saturday.
So far, the 13 Israeli hostages have been released since the beginning of the ceasefire. Five hostages of Thai were released by Hamas, but not as part of the agreement with Israel.
About 251 hostages were taken by Hamas when Israel attacked October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people.
Israel responded with a 15 -month military attack that killed 4,7,460 Palestinians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza, and destroyed the coastal pocket.
