Sunday marked the end of “15 months of agonizing torment and uncertainty” for Maureen Leshem of Toronto and her family in Israel.
Leshem’s cousin, Romi Gonen, was one of three hostages freed on Sunday as part of a ceasefire agreement that halts the war in Gaza that began following attacks by Hamas-led militants against Israel on October 7, 2023. .
“Today, my heart is filled with immense gratitude and relief,” Leshem said at a news conference in Toronto on Sunday.
The six-week ceasefire agreement, which outlines a plan to gradually release a total of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, officially began on Sunday after a three-hour delay.
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip went into effect on Sunday after a nearly three-hour delay, putting on pause a 15-month war that has brought devastation and seismic political changes to the Middle East.
Israeli officials have said they do not know if the 33 hostages are still alive.
Gonen was kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival 471 days ago. She was shot in the arm on October 7, something she described to her family on the phone before she was kidnapped. It would be almost two months before her family confirmed she was alive.
Leshem said her cousin faced “incomprehensible cruelty and trauma” in captivity, and that her family will now begin to help her heal.
“We know that the Romi who returns to us is not the same vibrant, cheerful young woman who was stolen from us on October 7,” Leshem said. “We will need to meet a new version of Romi, and that breaks my heart.”
Palestinian prisoners will also be released
Some 90 Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank and Jerusalem were also scheduled to be released on Sunday.
Reem Sultan of London, Ont., who says she has lost more than a dozen family members in the conflict, said Sunday that the ceasefire is a relief for her and her surviving family in Gaza.
“I feel like bricks have been taken out of my chest,” he said.
As his cousins return home after being displaced by the fighting, Sultan said he is dealing with images of destruction and debris flooding his phone.
“I’m thinking, where are they going to live?” she said.
Anxiety is relentless for Canadians with families trapped in Gaza as Israel mounts an offensive against Hamas. CBC’s Ellen Mauro was with Reem Sultan in London, Ontario, when she finally contacted her nephew for an update.
Sultan said he wants those responsible for the destruction to be held accountable and hopes that an agreement will be reached that will allow for a free Palestinian state and lasting peace in the region.
For now, he said he wants the Canadian government to push for a permanent ceasefire.
International pressure will be key to maintaining peace in the coming weeks, said Jon Allen, a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and former Canadian ambassador to Israel. He said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the first phase of the ceasefire will continue as planned.
“I only hope that… the pressure on Israel increases to ensure that the rest of the hostages are released in the second phase, and that pressure will fall on Hamas from the people of Gaza who do not want to see any resumption of the war.” , he told CBC Toronto on Sunday.
In the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage. In a statement on Sunday, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said 94 hostages remain captive. .
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 46,000 Palestinians were killed during the ensuing war between Hamas and Israel and more than 110,000 were injured.
Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire are still to come
Israel is treating the ceasefire as temporary and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel retains the right to continue fighting. if required.
But many are hopeful that the ceasefire will become permanent as Hamas and Israel continue negotiating.
The first phase of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, as well as the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of Gaza and increased humanitarian aid to the war-torn region.
The second and third phases, which have yet to be negotiated, would lead to a permanent ceasefire and the reconstruction of Gaza.
