What's the hold up with the Hamas hostage deal?
Here is a sobering reminder when it comes to the hostage deal: "With all the optimism, we mustn't forget we're talking to monsters. Until it's done, it's not done."
![Gila Isaacson Gila Isaacson](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=128,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2024/12/11/7939a1d0-b7d2-11ef-a276-eba2a135109a__h460_w443.jpeg)
![Memorial for murdered Israelis at the Nova Festival site](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=30,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2024/12/23/08aa5280-c127-11ef-99d7-272540d2cae5__h3000_w4000.jpg)
The latest round of hostage negotiations has hit a critical snag over who qualifies for humanitarian release, with sources saying the deal could be delayed until Trump's official presidency begins on January 20 - a revelation that has sent shockwaves through families of the captives.
Omer Wenkert, 23, was kidnapped from the Nova festival on October 7th. He suffers from severe colitis. His case has become a flashpoint in the complex negotiations, highlighting the brutal intersection of medical necessity and political bargaining.
"What international law permits holding a sick civilian captive?" his mother Niva demanded in an appeal to Israel's Security Cabinet, brandishing new medical assessments. "My son is being held without his medication, with a grenade in his stomach, and his captors are deciding who's sick?"
According to Prof. Chaim Shirin, head of the Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Wenkert faces severe risks without treatment. The young man's condition could deteriorate rapidly, potentially leading to life-threatening complications including internal bleeding and bowel perforation.
The broader deal framework, as reported by Egypt's Al-Rad channel, envisions significant changes: Israeli withdrawal from most of the Philadelphi Corridor, Palestinian management of the Rafah crossing under the 2005 agreement terms, and the phased release of hostages - specifically the sick, elderly, and women - in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Although there is clear progress, the main dispute centers on the number of living hostages to be released. Also, Hamas has yet to provide a complete list of surviving captives, a prerequisite for any agreement.
For families marking day 444 of captivity, these delays carry unbearable weight. "We're watching headlines that seem promising, but my optimism is cracking," says Yamit Ashkenazi, sister of captive Doron Steinbrecher. "Every delay means more hostages coming home in coffins instead of alive."
The deal has also exposed deep political fissures. When MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) spoke against certain aspects of the negotiation, Ruby Chen, father of captured IDF Sergeant Itay Chen, accused him of "using bereaved families" to oppose the deal.
In Doha, where Israeli negotiators led by a senior Mossad official continue talks, a U.S. official suggested Hamas appears motivated to reach agreement before potential changes in American leadership.
Ynet contributed to this article.
Unmissable content
Doctors plea amid critical condition of hostages, "They might simply not wake up, time is running out"
Eliana Fleming|The traumatic truth: Former hostage Emily Hand reveals she struggles with nightmares and "can't think about the future"
Eliana Fleming|Fiji to open embassy in Jerusalem, Hamas unhappy
Avi Woolf|
0 Comments
![image of something image of something](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/5449a160-ede5-11ef-b4ae-6b34cecaeb02__h331_w650.webp)
Is Netanyahu losing it?
Contrary to what Benjamin Netanyahu promised, heavy machinery enters Gaza
![Or Levy Or Levy](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/72cfc480-ede4-11ef-8920-8dddeba15fcf__h1108_w780.jpeg)
Bring them all home!
Freed hostage Or Levy released from hospital – what lies ahead?
![Keith Siegel is home Keith Siegel is home](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/498aae50-eddf-11ef-b4ae-6b34cecaeb02__h361_w642.webp)
Horrific
Freed hostage Keith Sigel's daughter reveals: "Hamas wouldn't let my father get up; he lay on a a mattress most of the time"
![Dave Chapelle Dave Chapelle](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/d1c81200-eddd-11ef-b4ae-6b34cecaeb02__h768_w1024.jpg)
He should have stuck to comedy
Comedian Dave Chappelle claims SNL 'censorship' over his Gaza comments - we're not buying it
![image of something image of something](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/521fa100-eddb-11ef-b4ae-6b34cecaeb02__h800_w1200.webp)
Sparking outrage at Israeli hospital
Aunt of fallen soldier faints as Hamas terrorist from Oct. 7 attack gets priority MRI at her workplace
![Nova festival memorial site. Nova festival memorial site.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/e71c74f0-edda-11ef-b4ae-6b34cecaeb02__h5297_w7941.jpg)
Talk About An Awful Detour
Nukhba Terrorists who massacred Nova festival-goers planned to attack Netivot
![MK Ofer Cassif. MK Ofer Cassif.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/3df51c40-edd7-11ef-8920-8dddeba15fcf__h5148_w7718.jpg)
Turmoil In The Knesset
MK Ofer Cassif compares Trump relocation plan to Nazis
![Protest for the hostages. Protest for the hostages.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/dacafb00-edd4-11ef-b4ae-6b34cecaeb02__h4024_w6048.jpg)
A Breakthrough?
Israeli source: Hamas wants to free more hostages this week - on this condition
![IDF soldier in Lebanon. IDF soldier in Lebanon.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/9ef8b930-edc7-11ef-8920-8dddeba15fcf__h3309_w4963.jpg)
Tenuous Calm
IDF withdraws from Lebanon, will remain in five outposts
![Hamas terrorists. Hamas terrorists.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/18/d9bc0bc0-edc3-11ef-8920-8dddeba15fcf__h4480_w6720.jpg)
No Progress On Second Phase
Is the Palestinian Authority ending "pay to slay" for terrorists?
![Palestinian flags in the Jerusalem neighbourhood Mea Shearim Palestinian flags in the Jerusalem neighbourhood Mea Shearim](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/17/64d6a8f0-ed79-11ef-8920-8dddeba15fcf__h5303_w7951.jpg)
Makes me sick
Absolutely Vile! Palestinian flags found in Mea Shearim neighborhood confiscated by police
![Senator Lindsey Graham. Senator Lindsey Graham.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://images.jfeed.com/2025/02/17/ab758980-ed78-11ef-b4ae-6b34cecaeb02__h3015_w5003.jpg)
Escalation or Deescalation?