HAIFA, Israel – For Oran Almog, the last sight he remembers is shattered glass, blood, and bodies—horrors from a 2003 suicide bombing that left him blind at just 10 years old and took the lives of his father, brother, and grandparents. Now, at 32, Almog is confronting fresh heartbreak as Sami Jaradat, the Islamic Jihad militant who orchestrated the attack, was released from Israeli prison as part of a ceasefire agreement aimed at securing the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza.
“It was incredibly painful—something inside my heart broke,” Almog told Reuters. But despite the personal cost, he supports the deal, saying, “The high price we need to pay, and that I am paying personally, is less important at this moment because live Israeli hostages are going to return home.”
The agreement, brokered with the help of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, facilitates the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages—primarily children, women, and elderly individuals—for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Among those released are individuals like Jaradat, who were convicted of deadly attacks during periods of intense Israeli-Palestinian violence, such as the Second Intifada two decades ago. However, many of the Palestinian detainees set for release were arrested without formal charges.
Public opinion in Israel remains divided. A poll by Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies in January found that 70% of Israelis support the ceasefire deal. Yet, concerns persist. Some Israelis fear that the agreement will allow Hamas to retain control over Gaza, while others worry that the fate of over 60 male hostages remains uncertain and hinges on further negotiations that may not succeed.
“Israel will pay a heavy price for this deal,” said Shay Odesser, whose father and uncle were killed in a 2002 ambush in the occupied West Bank. His concerns stem in part from past prisoner exchanges—most notably, the 2011 release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Among those freed was Yahya Sinwar, who later masterminded the October 7, 2023, attack on Israeli communities, which Israel says resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the abduction of over 250 hostages.
As the ceasefire agreement unfolds, Israel is once again grappling with the painful cost of balancing national security and the desperate hope of bringing hostages home.