'Hostages are not posters': Freed hostages call for return of Gaza captives

The remarks came as the IDF initiated Operation Strength and Sword in the early hours of Tuesday, which saw widespread strikes on the Gaza Strip, ending the ceasefire. 

 Freed hostages Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Yarden Bibas, Iair Horn, and Sasha Troufanov stand on stage in Tel Aviv. March 18, 2025. (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
Freed hostages Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Yarden Bibas, Iair Horn, and Sasha Troufanov stand on stage in Tel Aviv. March 18, 2025.
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)

Freed hostages Sasha Troufanov, Iair Horn, and Keith Siegel called for the release of the 59 hostages held in Gaza captivity during a rally at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. 

The remarks came as the IDF initiated Operation Strength and Sword in the early hours of Tuesday, which saw widespread strikes on the Gaza Strip, ending the ceasefire. 

"Military pressure endangers the lives of the hostages," Troufanov said, adding that the hostages "are not posters; they are people."

"They are human beings, and their time is running out. Every minute, there is endless hell and mortal danger," he stated.

"Since I've returned, especially since this morning, I cannot stop thinking about my friends who are still there," he added.

He further noted, "The collapse of the ceasefire has taken me back to those difficult days when my life was in daily danger."

 Freed hostage Sasha Troufanov speaks on stage in Tel Aviv. March 18, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
Freed hostage Sasha Troufanov speaks on stage in Tel Aviv. March 18, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)

Horn, whose brother, Eitan, is currently held in Hamas captivity, said, "My little brother Eitan was left behind in hell, and I feel as if one-third of myself was left behind. 

"To the decision-makers I say: Do not forget that the absolute majority of the Israeli people support a deal to return the hostages, the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial." 

Siegel shares experience from captivity

Siegel shared,  "I was held in inhumane conditions in underground tunnels—cramped spaces where I could not stand, deprived of air, light, sanitation, sufficient food, or water. 


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"I witnessed firsthand acts of brutality—violence, and cruelty that I never imagined possible between human beings in this day and age," he added. 

He recounted how, after the previous ceasefire deal collapsed while he was in captivity, one of the terrorists began hitting him with a weapon, taking out his anger on him, he said. 

He called for the return of the hostage deal negotiations to bring about the release of the 59 hostages.

Yarden Bibas, who was freed in February and whose wife, Shiri, and children Ariel and Kfir were murdered in Hamas captivity, stood behind them.