Needham man says 2 relatives were released by Hamas

A Needham man whose relatives were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7 said two of his cousins were among those released during the temporary truce Monday.

Jason Greenberg said he heard from a U.S. official and family members that his cousins, Sahar and Erez Kalderon, were released back to Israel as part of hostage and prisoner exchanges taking place between Israel and Hamas during the pause in fighting.

Greenberg told WBUR in October that Sahar, 16, and Erez, 12, were taken hostage by Hamas from the Nir Oz kibbutz close to the Gaza Strip. Their father, Ofer Kalderon, was also taken hostage and has yet to be released.

Greenberg said he was cautiously optimistic when he initially heard Sahar and Erez were on a list of hostages to be released. The two were not held together, he said, and he wasn't sure they would be released on the same day.

"I wanted to see them with my eyes before I was ready to believe it," he said.

Sahar and Erez are in the hospital under evaluation with their mother, who was not captured during the Oct. 7 attack, said Greenberg.

Two of his relatives, 80-year-old Carmela Dan and 13-year-old Noya Dan, were captured and killed in October, according to the Israeli government.

The nearly two months of wondering what was happening to his other relatives was difficult, he said.

"With Carmela and Noya, you know, there was closure. We knew their fate, it's obviously tragic, but we didn't have to wonder," said Greenberg. "We miss them terribly and they'll never be forgotten, but, in some sense, a known fate is always better than an unknown fate. And the fate of Sahar and Erez was unknown until yesterday."

Greenberg said he and his family had been advocating for the release of his relatives since they were taken hostage. He has advocated from the United States, while his sister and brother-in-law, who live in Israel, had talked with the U.S. and Israeli governments. In addition, Sahar and Erez's mother is a French citizen and had been pressing the government there.

While two of his relatives were released, Greenberg said that his family won't stop pressing for the release of all captives.

"Just because they've been released doesn't mean that we're going to stop fighting because there are still so many others. And I was, and still am, very aware that for the two relatives of mine that were released yesterday, that's another two families that didn't get to welcome home theirs."

The truce was originally set to expire on Monday, but Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. said there is now an agreement to prolong the deal at least through Wednesday if Hamas releases at least 10 Israeli hostages each day. Hamas agreed on Tuesday to free more Israeli hostages in return for dozens of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

On Monday, 33 Palestinian prisoners were released after Hamas handed over 11 Israeli hostages.

About 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken captive in the Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli officials. At least 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Greenberg spoke with WBUR's All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins Tuesday afternoon. You can listen to that conversation, produced by Lynn Jolicoeur, by clicking on the audio player above.