Coordinator of the Freethem collective, Patrick Klugman expresses his fears about the fragility of the agreement and is saddened by the “lottery aspect” for families. In the first phase, only the return of 33 of the 94 Israeli hostages still in the hands of Hamas, out of the 251 kidnapped on October 7, 2023, is planned.
Published on 16/01/2025 07:16
Reading time: 2min
“It’s an agreement amid tears”reacts Thursday January 16 on franceinfo master Patrick Klugman, lawyer and coordinator of the Freethem collective while an agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. Negotiated by international mediators – Qatar, the United States and Egypt – the ceasefire agreement is due to come into force on Sunday, the day before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
“Anything that can allow the return of one or several hostages must obviously be welcomed,” according to Patrick Klugman. But he deplores “the lottery aspect” of this agreement. “We don’t know if the person whose return we hope for is alive or dead, what state he will be in. There are a lot of expectations”he emphasizes.
The agreement is established in three phases. The first is to last 42 days and provides for the release of 33 hostages in exchange for a thousand Palestinians detained by Israel.
“Of the 33 announced, there will be ten corpses entering Israel.”
Patrick Klugman, lawyer and coordinator of the Freethem collectiveat franceinfo
To date, there remain 94 hostages dead or alive out of the 251 Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023. “It is an agreement amid tears which, for the families concerned, constitutes a final torture which is undoubtedly as harsh as the previous fourteen months”explains Patrick Klugman.
The lawyer points out the fragility of the agreement: “An agreement that extends this long for its first phase can be derailed, collapsed at any moment. Imagine even a lone gunman who starts doing anything, there is no longer any agreement. 42 days is extraordinarily long, uncertain and fragile. Patrick Klugman notes that even US President Joe Biden has not spoken of peace: “He talks about the end of the war.”
“No one is happy, no one is exulting. But we are simply starting to breathe a little… perhaps… But at the moment, we are holding our breath before we can breathe.” he concludes.
