Families of hostages held by Hamas and other Gaza terror groups gathered outside the homes of several ministers on Monday to mark a year and a half since the October 7 massacre.
The main gathering was held at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. Hostage families also gathered in smaller crowds outside the residences of other politicians, including Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli, Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat, and former health minister Yuli Edelstein.
“There is a heavy and difficult feeling as if the return of our loved ones has been pushed aside; we must bring everyone back now!” the families stated.
The families called for the “immediate return of the 59 hostages from Hamas captivity,” according to a statement from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
The protest activity began at 6:29 a.m., the same time Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border and began their attack on October 7.
Demonstrators began by reading the names of the 59 remaining hostages, with a prayer session and recordings of testimonies from captivity survivors, the forum said.
'History will remember'
The families also held signs reading, “History will remember,” while calling on decision-makers to reach an agreement that would “bring about the immediate return of all hostages in a single step.”
Erez Adar, uncle of Tamir Adar, whose body remains in Gaza, stated, “Fifty-nine people are in hell, and there is no end in sight. Fifty-nine people, who should be the most urgent issue in the State of Israel, have been pushed to the margins.”
“I am here today because we are at an impasse,” he commented, adding, “We are enraged, and we call on the prime minister to bring back all the hostages in a single step. This is the most important issue on the agenda. We must bring them all back – the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for burial – so that there will be a chance for a better future.”
Varda Ben Baruch, Edan Alexander's grandmother, addressed Netanyahu, saying, “Prime minister, ‘In every generation, a person must see himself as if he came out of Egypt.’ We say this in the Passover Haggadah. Now comes your moment of truth. You are in the United States, and you need to sit with [US] President [Donald] Trump and finalize a deal for everyone to come home. We are expecting this.”
Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was killed by Hamas alongside five other hostages after surviving 11 months in Gaza, commented, “Forty-one hostages were murdered in captivity. We hear the defense minister say, ‘In our view, we are not endangering the hostages.’ Defense Minister Israel Katz, we are living proof of the danger to the lives of the hostages. The living and the fallen may be lost if you do not act now.
“President Trump, please. It’s been a year and a half. There is only one word that can be shouted now: enough. Enough of this nightmare.”