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Nerves on Edge before "Deal with Hamas"

Writer's picture: Melanie PrestonMelanie Preston

Trepidation takes hold of Israeli society on eve of potential release of women and children.




When I woke up this morning in Tel Aviv and saw the English headline that a deal to release hostages had been reached, I dove for the remote and turned on the TV.


I expected to see immense joy and relief, so was surprised when that didn't seem to be the case or the mood. The only way for me to watch news in real time in Israel though, is in Hebrew, so I have been keeping Channel 12 on a lot, but I should disclose at this point that my Hebrew isn't great, as when I lived here I never needed to fully immerse myself...but I didn't live through a war and let's face it - I am older now and I understand far more than I did back then, plus this attack on October 7th was the most violent day in Israel's 75 year history as a nation - so I need to watch the news. I may understand just 35% of what is being said, but I understand the emotion. I understood Hadas Kalderon better in Hebrew a few days ago than I did on CNN, as she screams on TV to bring back her 16-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son (who already had panic attacks). Her husband is also a hostage, and her mother and niece were murdered on October 7th. Imagine of this was your life and your family for the past 47 days?


Yet today - I did not see many mothers on TV, and I sensed a quiet but intense trepidation, so I started to ask around...wasn't anyone happy the kids would be let out? These were the responses I got for the past 14 hours: - "You can't trust Hamas. Until we see our hostages BACK, we can't believe them."

- "For all we know, we are getting back corpses, or they will be killed live on camera."

- "It's an impossible decision for our government, as we are giving Hamas days to rearm against us, and a chance to kill our soldiers, as we 'exchange' people tomorrow."

- "We're releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners (terrorists) for 50 innocent child civilians."

- "The world will expect this again and again, as will Hamas."

- "Hamas will use all of their rockets on us prior to 10am tomorrow morning."

Yet, at the same time, of course we in Israel are happy if these children are returned to their families. It's just that so much can go wrong, and these children - if alive - have been subjected to 47 days of torture and rape, and some after witnessing the murder of their parents. This is not a party even if it all goes smoothly; there is just no end to the trauma.


What this society has been put through between the gruesome barbaric attack that started this war, the taking of 242 civilians, the global celebrations rooting for the evil that has slashed through the heart of Israel, and the blame for defending itself - cannot be imagined or described. So yes, stress is at a peak, as the unknown looms, with a four-day ceasefire ahead of us, which we will have to strictly adhere to, (though Hamas never has), and which I'm told usually begins with Hamas using all of their rockets and in the hours and minutes and seconds before said "ceasefire" begins.

And it begins at 10am - eight and a half hours from now. May Day 48 of this war go as planned, with 12-13 women and children being brought back home. May our troops be safe during this process, and may we - as a people - continue to inhale and exhale, in an effort to heal.












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1 Comment


mortonmarlena
Nov 25, 2023

Very interesting blog Melanie. Keep the faith that all the hostages will be released eventually.

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Melanie Preston left for Israel a month after the October 7th horrific terror attack. The trauma she and Israelis are enduring coupled with the sickening global pro-Hamas celebrations motivated her want to help in any way she could, to help humanize the situation on the ground in Israel in order to combat rampant disinformation.

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