To mark 500 days since the October 7 massacre, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced that Monday will be a fast day.
The fast day will last for 500 minutes, from 11:40 AM to 8:00 PM, or alternatively, from sunrise to sunset, in order to advocate for the release of the remaining 73 hostages still held captive in Gaza.
Tel Aviv's Hostages Square will be open for tours throughout the day. Businesses will operate in an adapted format, specialized lessons will be taught in schools, and various exhibits by the families of hostages will be held.
Additionally, several events will take place at different locations across the country, including an early morning march to the Knesset with families of hostages and a main assembly event at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square to conclude the fast.
Hostage release
Since the beginning of Phase One of the hostage deal, 19 Israeli hostages have been released.
On Saturday, three male hostages were released from captivity after Hamas announced earlier in the week that it was canceling the release of hostages until further notice due to an ‘Israeli violation.’
In response to Hamas's threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that the hostages be released, or else Israel would return to war.
"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated," Netanyahu said on Tuesday, adding that the decision had been reached unanimously by cabinet members.
Despite their threats, the terrorist group released three hostages according to the schedule set for Phase One of the ceasefire deal: Alexander Sasha Troufanov, Sagui Dekel Chen, and Iair Horn.