A week without war meant that the temporary pause in fighting was replaced by the emotions of family reunions. Before the air strikes resumed on Friday, dozens of the hostages captured by Hamas in the 7 October attacks were released, while Palestinians held in Israeli jails had been allowed to leave.
In our conversations host James Reynolds hears a few of those stories of families celebrating seeing loved ones again. “My mum came out of the Earth one day and that was incredible,” Sharone Lifschitz tells us. Her 85-year-old mother, Yocheved, was one of the first hostages to be released but (at the time of recording) her father was still being held. “She told us my father was injured and so we thought that he was gone and now we know that he is there, but we also know so much more about how horrendous the conditions are.”
Human rights organisations say the number of Palestinians held without charge in Israeli prisons has increased dramatically since 7 October. There are now thought to be more than 6,000 Palestinians held by Israel, many still awaiting trial. We bring together Marwan whose son, Wisam, was released after six and a half months in prison, and Eman who recently welcomed home her sister in law, Hanan.
We also meet two parents living under the Israeli bombardment in Gaza who led their families to safety in Egypt. They tell us about the conditions they endured and how their children are coping.
A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.
The Documentary Podcast