The families of the 60 Minutes crew detained in Lebanon have released a statement explaining that they’re enduring a “living nightmare”.

Sally Faulkner with Lahela and Noah. Facebook.

The statement comes as lawyers negotiating on behalf of jailed Australian woman Sally Faulkner and her estranged Lebanese-American husband fail to reach agreement on the custody status of their children, Lahala, 6, and Noah, 4.

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The breakdown in negotiation leaves Ms Faulkner as well as Tara Brown and her 60 Minutes crew in a Lebanese jail facing kidnapping charges.

In a joint statement issued by Cara Williamson, Denise Rice, John McAvoy and Laura Battistel – the partners of the 60 Minutes crew – they said some were still yet to tell their children what was happening.

The statement published by Fairfax said: “It’s not an easy conversation to have with a five or seven year old who ask as they go to sleep each night when mummy or daddy is coming home.

“Our natural instinct was to fly over and be there for them. Immediately. But our desire to be over there, possibly see them for ourselves and to give them our love and support has to be balanced against the advice from the people on the ground and that’s to stay here”.

It’s feared Tara Brown and her crew may be detained for months. Nine Network.

The 60 Minutes team are among seven people facing charges over the bungled child-retrieval operation. Also detained are two men from the child recovery agency hired for the retrieval mission.

Ghassan Moughabghab, Ms Faulkner’s lawyer, says although Judge Rami Adbullah had “pushed” Ali Elamine and Ms Faulkner to reach agreement over the custody of the couple’s two children, behind-the-scene talks had broken down.

“I met the lawyer of Mr Elamine, he put his conditions, we accepted all of them and yet now I am told they will not accept the agreement,” Mr Moughabghab said.

As part of the agreement, Ms Faulkner would give up custody of her children, proceed with the divorce in Lebanon and would be allowed to see her children, Mr Moughabghab said. All that was left to settle was whether she could see them in Lebanon, Australia or a third country such as nearby Cyprus, he said.

“She will even give up the sole custody granted to her by the Australian (Family) Court if he agrees to drop the charges,” Mr Moughabghab said.

“It seems Mr Elamine is not interested in a settlement,” he said. “Maybe he wants to savour his joy at her predicament a bit longer.”

In refusing to reach an agreement with his wife, Mr Elamine is also reportedly not keen to drop the charges against the 60 Minutes team amid allegations the Nine Network contributed $115,000 to the child recovery operation.

The network has refused to comment on the allegations.

Father and children: happier times. Nine Network.

Mr Elamine denied the two parties had been close to reaching agreement, saying “Faulkner’s lawyer is trying to draft something but it still has to go through the legal process”.

Mr Moughabghab, who has been pursuing Mr Elamine over the custody dispute for nine months, said he had not even been able to serve court papers on the children’s father.

“Every time we attempted to present him with the documents he disappeared and after about a month-and-a-half, the clerk of the court was too frightened to keep going to his place,” Mr Moughabghab said.

Ms Faulkner, who along with Ms Brown is being held in Baabda women’s prison, is facing a difficult situation, her lawyer said.

“She is not accustomed to be in prison, especially in a Lebanese prison, it is not something very nice to experience but she is being visited regularly by representatives from the embassy who are helping her,” he said.

The attempt to snatch the children as they were walking with Mr Elamine’s mother and a nanny on April 7 was captured on CCTV and appeared to show one of the women being shoved as their children were taken.

The children were returned to their father soon after and their mother and the journalists were arrested along with the child recovery team.

The hearing returns to court in Beirut on Monday.