Families of hostages slain while in Hamas captivity spoke out against the expansion of operations in Gaza during a demonstration outside the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv on Monday evening.
Among them was Gil Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 and murdered after nearly 11 months in captivity. Dickmann addressed the growing risks to the 58 remaining hostages, of whom 41 are now believed to have been killed in Gaza.
“They were kidnapped alive, waiting to return home safely,” Dickmann said. “Some returned in coffins; others remain abandoned in Gaza. Our families are living proof that military pressure kills hostages. Every escalation risks more lives.”
He added that recently released hostage Edan Alexander had told his family he narrowly survived an Israeli airstrike while in captivity. “Have you learned nothing? Stop this war!” he urged.
Dickmann recounted to The Jerusalem Post his cousin’s final months in captivity. Gat, 39, witnessed the murder of her mother during the Hamas massacre and was then taken to Gaza, where she served as a “guardian angel” to two younger hostages.
She led yoga and meditation sessions to help them stay mentally strong, according to released hostages’ accounts – two teens who were released in the November hostage deal, with Gat remaining behind.
“We had proof of life just days before she was murdered,” Dickmann told the Post. “She stayed alive until around August 29, when terrorists executed her and five others as Israeli forces approached. They shot them in the head and fled.”
“She should have been part of the January deal,” he added. “Had she survived and been released, she would have been standing here, shouting even louder than I am now: ‘Bring them home.’”
Since her death, Dickmann said, the family has transformed its grief into activism. “Carmel will never come back alive. She was murdered as a captive and will remain one in our hearts forever,” he said.
“But we will not stop fighting to ensure no other family lives through this nightmare. We are a black flag – an urgent warning of what happens when deals are delayed and lives are gambled.”
Hostage families appeal to Trump
He directly addressed international leaders, reserving his sharpest plea for Washington: “President Trump, you are our last and only hope. Show Netanyahu he’s wrong – that you will do more. If you had been president back then, maybe our loved ones would still be alive. You can’t save my cousin – but you can still save 58 hostages. Stop this war. Bring them home now.”
Dickmann closed with a clear message to the world: “The Jewish people want the hostages home. This is a fight between life and death. For our family, it’s already too late – but it’s not too late for the others.”