Hope, fear at Paris rally for Gaza hostages

Some of those present carried photos of the hostages under a sign saying 'abducted'

People gathered in Paris Saturday in support of the hostages held in Gaza, describing being torn between hope and fear hours before a truce set to allow their release takes effect.

The ceasefire, intended to pave the way to an end of the Israel-Hamas war, was scheduled to begin at 0630 GMT Sunday.

Under the deal, 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day period.

In Paris, hostage supporters gathered opposite the Eiffel Tower anxiously awaiting the ceasefire.

"It's a mix of hope and fear," said Jean-David Ichay, president of the "Tous 7 Octobre" association.

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"There's already the fact that only 33 hostages have been announced so far... The rest will either happen later or not at all," he said.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Two sources close to Hamas told AFP that the first group of hostages to be released would be three Israeli women soldiers.

'Fall into euphoria'

In Paris, Ichay expressed worries about "the health of the hostages -- those who will be alive, those who will return deceased."

Participants at the rally held up "bring them home" placards with the faces of some of the hostages while a digital counter marked the days, hours and minutes they have been held captive.

"Now, at last, we have hope. Please support us until the last hostage is home," Efrat Yahalomi, sister of French-Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi, said from a stage.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said Yahalomi and another dual national, Ofer Kalderon, are among those due to be freed in the first phase.


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