Tens of thousands commemorate the fate of the hostages at demonstrations

Six months after the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Jerusalem again. They called for a new deal to release the more than 100 hostages still in the Gaza Strip.

Relatives of those still abducted in the Gaza Strip, as well as hostages who have already been released, also recalled the fate of the people in the hands of Hamas over the weekend. The family members’ organization had called for a rally in front of the Israeli parliament building in Jerusalem on Sunday evening – exactly six months to the day after the Hamas massacre on October 7th.

Criticism of Netanyahu and Security Cabinet

According to the organizers, around 50,000 people came and chanted to bring the hostages home. Sisters of the still abducted women stood on stage at the start of the event wearing clothing similar to the one the women had worn on the day they were abducted. Several had their mouths taped as a symbol of the hostages’ speechlessness and red paint painted on their clothing or arms as a sign of blood.

“From here I turn to the head of government and the security cabinet: shuffling feet and indecision mean that more hostages will return to us in coffins,” shouted Lischai Lavi Miran, the wife of the kidnapped Omri Miran. “I beg you: do not return from the negotiations without an agreement that includes my Omri and the other men.”

“We are here counting the days”

Among the speakers at the demonstration was Ofri Bibas, whose one-year-old nephew Kfir is the youngest hostage still held by the Islamists. She demanded that the fate of the hostages “not be forgotten.” “We are here counting the days,” said Agam Goldstein, who was taken from her home in Kfar Aza to the Gaza Strip along with her mother and two younger brothers and released after 51 days.

Goldstein said she wondered in what condition the hostages would return, given the portraits of the hostages projected on a large screen. “The photos all over the country and around the world show a different person. They don’t look the same anymore, they don’t smile the same anymore.” 19-year-old Itay Regev, who was kidnapped along with his sister Maya at the Nova music festival on October 7, described a life full of fear while held hostage. “We came back alive, but not in one piece.” Every morning was a different day in hell.

Relatives recalled the celebrations of the past six months that had to be celebrated without their loved ones. Now they hoped to return to the Seder meal of the upcoming Passover festival, one of the most important holidays in Judaism. This year it will be celebrated from April 22nd to 30th.

Protests also on Saturday

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated against Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities on Saturday. Critics accuse him of neglecting the protection of the Gaza border and of subordinating the country’s interests to his political survival. The demonstrators repeatedly called for his resignation.

According to Israeli reports, more than 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip in the massacre by Hamas and other Islamist organizations on October 7, 2023.

Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian health authority, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed so far. During a week-long ceasefire at the end of November, Hamas released 105 hostages. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from prisons. More than 100 hostages are still held by Hamas, and dozens of them are believed to be dead.