Just hours after the 20 remaining living hostages were released by Hamas and brought back to Israel on Monday, the speaker of the Israeli parliament took off his yellow ribbon pin, an emblem of solidarity and an omnipresent reminder of the nation’s commitment to securing the captives’ return.
As he turned to thank US President Donald Trump – who had arrived earlier to roaring applause in the Knesset for brokering the ceasefire deal – Amir Ohana said he was “honored to take it off.”
Ohana’s pin was given to him by the father of one of the newly released hostages.
Yet, the celebratory moment felt deeply inappropriate to some of those still waiting for their loved ones to return, some of whom were sitting in the very same room.
“It was disrespectful – no sympathy,” said Ruby Chen, the father of American-Israeli hostage Itay, who was taken captive to Gaza and later confirmed dead.
“It was part of the narrative that he wishes to push, which is the deal is done – the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) got the deal done and that it’s over,” he told CNN, adding: “Well, it’s not – because there’s still (hostages inside Gaza).”
By Tuesday evening, just eight of the 28 deceased hostages still in Gaza had been released by Hamas, adding anguish to many families who watched the country celebrate the return of the living captives as a great success.
Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas had until 12:00 local time (4 a.m. ET) Monday to hand over all hostages to Israel – alive and deceased. Only four of the deceased – Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi and Daniel Peretz – were released that evening.
More than 24 hours later, on Tuesday evening, the Israeli military said it had received four additional bodies. Three were named early Wednesday as Uriel Baruch, Tamir Nimrodi and Eitan Levi.
For months, Israel had assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages.
Israeli sources have indicated that maps and intelligence exist pinpointing several deceased hostages, but efforts to enter those zones have been hampered by two years of Israeli bombardment that have left vast swaths of the enclave in rubble – where an estimated 10,000 Palestinians are also believed to be buried.
The Israeli military is slated to work with an international taskforce, which was agreed on in the ceasefire plan, to retrieve the bodies of any remaining hostages. But it’s still unclear how that will work.
By Tuesday, fury was growing among the public – and the Israeli government – over how few of the deceased hostages had been returned by Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the lack of progress “a failure to uphold commitments,” but stopped short of issuing military threats, interpreted as a signal that the ceasefire could still hold.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, announced they were considering keeping the Rafah border crossing – the primary entry point for humanitarian aid –closed.
The United Nations said that Israel confirmed that only 300 aid trucks – half the agreed number – would be allowed into Gaza Wednesday, and there would be no fuel or gas shipments, except for specific humanitarian needs.
“I believe that with this approach, we will first receive news – perhaps even in the coming hours – about the return of additional fallen hostages. But we are determined to bring them all back,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Tuesday evening, before the second group of deceased hostages returned.
But for many Netanyahu’s words rang hollow.
The prime minister’s critics, including some hostage families, have long accused him of prolonging the war to distract from multiple political scandals, at the expense of recovering the hostages.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum nodded to their continued frustrations with the Israeli leader and his coalition on Tuesday saying: “Those taking off flags and the hostages pin from their shirt, those who conceal their responsibility with thunderous applause – betray the values of Jewish morals and desecrate the agreement signed.”
For Yael Adar, the mother of slain hostage Tamir Adar, hearing the cheers of the political echelon made her feel deeply “betrayed” as she sat in the Knesset, and underscored her frustrations about how the deceased would be treated under the terms of the deal.
“What was signed in the agreement was that the deceased would be returned according to their ability. Now Hamas says, ‘this is what we could do,’” she said.
“Why are the dead bodies less worthy?” she asked, speaking to local media.
As public anger intensifies, crucial questions about the next steps remain unanswered.
The second round of ceasefire talks is in its infancy stages. Only the first phase of the plan has been implemented and just a few of the 20 points in Trump’s plan have been achieved so far.
Many of the thorniest issues – including whether Hamas will lay down its arms, and who will govern Gaza – are yet to be resolved.
And while Trump definitively declared that “the war is over” on his flight to the Middle East Monday, Israeli troops remain inside the enclave, with fears that Gaza’s security situation will continue to deteriorate amid reports of violent clashes between Hamas and rival groups.
Meanwhile, the hostage families – caught between diplomacy and devastation – are left to wait.
“It brings me back to October 7,” Itay’s mother Hagit Chen told CNN.
In a video shared online, she added: “Continue wearing the hostages pin. It’s so important that you show us you’re with us.”
