Desperate families of hostages held in Gaza are losing hope after a cease-fire deal with Hamas was delayed

• Families of hostages held in Gaza say they fear their relatives may not be released, per reports.
• Israel announced it delayed the ceasefire by one day without giving reasons for the decision.

The families of the hostages held by Hamas face an agonizing wait to hear about their potential release after a cease-fire deal with Israel was delayed.

Itay Raviv, whose family was abducted from a Kibbutz during the October 7 terror attacks, told The Guardian he was "nervous" and "scared" that some of his relatives may not be released.

"We must remember that, according to what is being reported, it's only going to be women and children, and I have some other family members, my uncle and aunt, in Hamas's hands as well," he told the outlet.

Under the cease-fire deal, at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas will be released over four days, the Israeli government said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Women and children will be given priority.

The cease-fire will be extended by one day for every 10 hostages released by Hamas, the Israeli government said in a separate press statement.

Keren Schem, whose daughter was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival, shared the same concerns as Raviv, per The Guardian.

She said she was worried that Mia Schem, 21, would not be released this week because she is not a child or a mother.

"It's like Russian roulette. We don't know who's going to come out," Schem told the outlet.

The fact her daughter, a French-Israeli tattoo artist, was seen injured in a hostage video released by Hamas doesn't help alleviate Schem's concerns around her condition, per the outlet.

Anxiety and fear are worsened by the lack of information provided by the Israeli government, Yael Engel Lichi, the aunt of a hostage who was kidnapped from a Kibbutz, told The New York Times.

"No official has been in touch to tell us anything," she told the newspaper, adding: "We are on the point of collapse."

The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The exchange of 50 Israeli hostages with 150 Palestinian war prisoners was postponed from Thursday and won't happen before Friday, Israel's national security advisor said on Wednesday, per Reuters. He did not specify the reasons for the delay.

An unnamed US official told The Wall Street Journal that the delay was caused by a lack of information on some of the 50 hostages. The source didn't specify the number of hostages involved.

According to Israel's national broadcaster, KAN, which cited an unnamed Israeli official, the release of hostages was rescheduled because mediator Qatar and Hamas failed to sign the agreement.

In a statement published on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu pledged to secure the freedom of all the hostages, regardless of their age, gender, or military status.