Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East, protest organization Shift 101 demonstrated outside the US Embassy’s Tel Aviv branch on Thursday afternoon, urging continued efforts to bring home the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Viki Cohen, the mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, a soldier abducted on October 7 from his tank, told The Jerusalem Post that he is the only believed survivor. Cohen shared that her son was identified in a recent Hamas propaganda video by his tattoo, one he had inked just two days before the massacre.
Now, the Cohen family has to wait for government action, and has taken to symbolic measures to pressure Trump ahead of his Middle East visit. “We want to ask him to please help us and pressure our government to sign a deal that will bring Nimrod and all the other hostages that are still in captivity,” she told the Post. “This is the only way to bring them back, not war that will risk them and risk our soldiers, but only a deal. This is the only thing that must be done now, this is high priority."
Cohen also noted that the majority of the Israeli public has shown that they are standing with the families of hostages, adding that solidarity and support shown through protests and demonstrations have warmed the hearts of the families of the captives.
In a Thursday afternoon panel, the mothers of Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, and Tamir Nimrodi spoke about the emotional difficulty of marking Mother’s Day without knowing the fate of their sons. These mothers emphasized how Mother’s Day, birthdays, and other celebrations have transformed into painful reminders of their loss. As Yael Alexander, mother of Edan, put it: “Every celebration — we are not celebrating — everything until Edan will be home.”
Each mother has faced unique challenges. Tamir Nimrodi’s mother shared how the only evidence of her son’s abduction is a video showing him barefoot and terrified, taken without any further signs of life. She recalled the last message from her son: “He texted me, 'I will try.' Those were the last words between us.” Her 14-year-old daughter came to her screaming after a video appeared on Instagram of her brother being dragged into Gaza. Meanwhile, Alexander’s family was shaken by Edan’s appearance in two separate Hamas hostage propaganda videos. "Since this video, I’m not sleeping at night. I’m crying every night in bed. I’m worried sick for his well-being,” Alexander said.
For Hagit Chen, mother of Itay, there has been no sign of life since the kidnapping. The IDF has informed her that her son is likely dead, but she refuses to accept this theory without physical proof. “For me, Itay is 21, because they didn’t bring me anything back. I did not have a funeral. I don’t have a grave. I still dream about him coming back alive,” she said.
Mothers of Gaza hostages express deep frustration at government
All the mothers expressed deep frustration over the lack of clear communication from the government and the ongoing uncertainty about the fate of their children. In particular, comments made by Sara Netanyahu and other officials regarding the number of surviving hostages have deeply hurt the families. Hagit Chen criticized these remarks, stating: “It’s not okay to get any news like that — by the way, the number changed. Who told you that? From where?”
Mother’s Day has come to symbolize the deep pain of their separation. As Yael Alexander shared, “I’m not sleeping at night. I’m crying every night in bed. I’m worried sick for his well-being.” Despite receiving updates through intelligence officers, the mothers expressed a feeling of being left in the dark. They noted that they have received more compassion from US officials, particularly under the Trump administration, than from their own government.
As President Trump prepares to visit Israel, Cohen, Nimrodi, Chen, and Alexander remain cautiously hopeful that his visit could spark renewed efforts to bring the hostages home. They are calling for serious negotiations to bring all hostages — both the living and deceased — back to their families. Tamir’s mother summed up the collective wish, saying: “We want this to end… and start rebuilding our lives again.”