Desperate Israelis waiting to hear whether loved ones will be released after Hamas deal: 'We're very hopeful'
Israelis are desperate to find out whether their loved ones will be among the 50 women and children to be released by Hamas following a Tuesday deal that ushered in a temporary cease-fire and agreement to swap Palestinian prisoners for the hostages at a 3-to-1 ratio.
"We do not fully trust Hamas. We're talking about a very cruel terrorist organization, but we hope that they will stand up to the agreement that they have signed, and we will see, on a daily basis, more and more of our loved ones," Gili Roman, whose brother Yarden is a hostage in Gaza, told FOX News on Wednesday.
"It is a better morning than the morning that we had yesterday, and we hope that tomorrow will be even a better morning."
FAMILIES BEG HAMAS ‘MONSTERS’ TO RETURN LOVED ONES 1 MONTH AFTER TERROR IN ISRAEL BEGAN
Efrat Machikawa is also waiting for good news. Five of her loved ones, including her aunt and uncle, were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists last month after the group launched surprise attacks on Israeli residential areas.
She told "FOX & Friends" she hasn't heard anything from her missing relatives and she has no way of knowing how they are doing.
"We're just very hopeful. I think that we are all in a great wait and whoever comes alive is blessed and so would be the others," she said.
"We are here to wait for all the 240 coming back as soon as possible."
ISRAEL, HAMAS AGREE TO TEMPORARY CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL INCLUDING FREEING 3 AMERICANS
Of the 240, approximately 10 Americans remain unaccounted for, but three, including three-year-old orphan Abigail Mor Idan, are expected to be among those released.
Roman said he hopes to see a "continuation" of the deal that would involve dozens of hostages being released beyond the four-day cease-fire.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, in a statement Tuesday, said the release of every 10 hostages would result in an additional day of respite.
"We really hope to see as many as possible, all children and women which are included in this, a broader deal. Afterwards, we hopefully want to see new deals that will extend the scope of release also to all of our men and soldiers until the last one of them," he added.
Machikawa said she is thankful for the public support she has seen for Israel.
BIDEN ADMIN REACTS TO TEMPROARY CEASE-FIRE DEAL BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS, RELEASE OF HOSTAGES
"Please keep us in your news and in your thoughts, and talk to your senators and governments. I think that we should be all united in order to release them," she said.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in battle since Oct. 7, with approximately 1,200 Israelis reported dead to date and Hamas claiming nearly 13,000 civilians have been killed as a result of the conflict.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that the country remains committed to bringing every hostage home.
"The Israeli government is committed to the return of all hostages home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released for 4 days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting," the statement said.
"The release of every ten additional hostages will result in an additional day of respite. The Israeli government, the IDF and the security forces will continue the war in order to return all the hostages, to complete the elimination of Hamas and to ensure that Gaza does not renew any threat to the State of Israel."
The cease-fire in the Gaza Strip began Thursday and will last four days.
Israel said the deal does not signal an end to the war, however, and the goal of eliminating Hamas remains.
FOX News' Lawrence Richard and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.