Israeli families demand a deal that will bring all hostages back, dead or alive

Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for more than a year met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (January 14), demanding a deal that will see all remaining hostages back, dead or alive, as negotiators in Qatar finalise details of a ceasefire deal that would see a first stage of releasing captives. Previous rounds of failed negotiations have kept families on a nightmare roller-coaster, with their hopes crashing each time talks collapsed. If a deal is sealed this time, 33 hostages are expected to be released in its first phase. They would include women, children, five female soldiers, men over 50, as well as sick and wounded captives. There are a total of 98 hostages still in Gaza, so families fear that those who will not be freed in the first phase, will be left behind if the deal falls through before reaching its second stage.   As some families were being briefed by Netanyahu in his office in Jerusalem on the details of the deal taking shape in Doha, others gathered outside the leader's office to protest. Ruby Chen, whose soldier son, Itay, was killed in Hamas' Oct. 7 2023 attack and whose body is being held in Gaza called his son a "hero" and said "he doesn't deserve to rot in Gaza". Around half the hostages are believed to still be alive. Among those who died, some were killed in Israeli strikes, others were slain by their captors and some have been dead since the Oct. 7 2023 Hamas attack in which they were seized. (Production: Dedi Hayoun, Michaela Cabrera)