TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) – Former Israeli hostages, freed from Hamas captivity under a deal that took effect exactly one year ago, on Sunday called for immediate action to secure a deal for the release of those still held.

The only truce in the Israel-Hamas war began on November 24 last year, less than two months after fighting began, following negotiations led by Qatar and supported by Egypt and the United States.

Over the week-long pause, 80 Israelis held by militants in Gaza were freed, in exchange for 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Another 25 hostages, mostly Thai farm workers, were also released from captivity in Gaza.

Repeated efforts since then by mediators to secure another truce and hostage-release have failed. Qatar early this month said it was suspending its mediation role until the warring sides show “seriousness.”

“Everything has already been said, and now action is required. We don’t have any more time,” said Gabriella Leimberg, a former hostage kidnapped from southern Israel on October 7, 2023 when Hamas Palestinian militants from Gaza stormed across the border, triggering the war.

She spoke during a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the hostage release.

“For 53 days, the one thing that kept me going is that we, the people of Israel, the Jewish people, sanctify life — we don’t leave anyone behind,” she said.

Leimberg, along with her daughter, Mia, and sister Clara, were all freed during the week-long truce.

Since then, Israel has rescued seven additional hostages alive and recovered the bodies of several others.

But out of 251 people taken hostage on October 7 last year, 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.

“I survived and I was fortunate to get my entire family back,” Leimberg said. “I want and demand this for all the families of the hostages.”

– Families’ despair –
Danielle Aloni, who was kidnapped with her five-year-old daughter, Emelia, and freed after 49 days, spoke at the ceremony of the “increasing danger” those still being held face every day.

She said those still in captivity “suffer physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, their identity and dignity crushed anew each day”.

“It took the Israeli government about two months to secure a deal for me and 80 other Israeli hostages. Why is it taking over a year to reach another deal to free them from this hell?” asked Aloni, whose brother-in-law, David Cunio, and his brother, Ariel Cunio, are still being held.

She emphasised that, even though she and the other hostages gained their freedom a year ago, “we haven’t really left the tunnels”.

“The feeling of suffocation, the terrible humidity, the stench -– these sensations still envelop us,” Aloni said, referring to Hamas’s underground tunnels where many of the hostages were held.

“If people could truly understand what it means to be held in subhuman conditions in tunnels, surrounded by terrorists for 54 days – there’s no way they would allow hostages to remain there for 415 days!” said Raz Ben Ami, who was released in the deal a year ago.

Her husband, Ohad, is still among those being held.

Ben Ami called for a ceasefire to “bring back all the hostages as quickly as possible”.