Ahead of weekly rallies, hostages’ families decry plans for partial deal

Rallies for a Gaza hostage deal and against the government were expected to draw Israelis across the country Saturday night, as families of captives rejected the prospect of a Gaza agreement that would bring back only some of their loved ones, as has been discussed in recent negotiations.

“Whoever dares to attempt partial deals will be going against the express will of the nation,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a press release ahead of its central rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square. “Only a comprehensive deal to return our loved ones will bring about Israeli victory.”

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 55 hostages, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 hostages who are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of the two others.

The rally is set to feature speeches by relatives of two hostages still thought to be alive: Ofir Angrest, brother of Matan Angrest, and Barak Oz, cousin of Bar Kuperstein. Also set to speak are relatives of four slain captives whose remains are held in the Strip: Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of US-Israeli soldier Omer Neutra; Bar Godard, daughter of Manny Godard; Noam Katz Rudaeff, daughter of Lior Rudaeff; and Inbar Keidar, daughter-in-law of Ofra Keidar.

The Forum will hold dozens of smaller rallies in other locations, including Jerusalem, Kiryat Gat and the Shaar HaNegev Junction in the south.

A separate rally for the hostages, but also featuring anti-government messaging, is set to take place a block away, outside the Begin Road entrance to IDF Headquarters.

That rally will be bolstered by protesters from an earlier anti-government demonstration on Habima Square. Speakers at Habima are set to include former Deputy Attorney General Dina Silber, as well as Dani Elgarat, brother of slain hostage Itzik Elgarat and a fierce critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Instead of striving for a deal and bringing all our sons and daughters home, the Israeli government and its head are dealing only with the draft-dodging law,” organizers of the Habima rally said.

Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners this week stepped up threats to topple the government over its failure to codify Haredi yeshiva students’ exemption from military service. The crisis has left the premier scrambling to salvage his coalition.

Habima will also see a small left-wing protest focused on Gazan children killed by Israel’s offensive. Participants will then march to Kaplan Street to hold a silent vigil. The weekly vigil did not take place last week, as activists headed instead to a large anti-war demonstration in Haifa.

The rallies come after Israeli security forces announced Saturday that they had recovered the remains of slain Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, following the recovery of the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gadi Haggai early Thursday.

All three were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the Gaza war.

Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks on a ceasefire proposal by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, which would see the fighting stop for 60 days and roughly half the living captives and half the dead captives returned to Israel.

Mediators are optimistic that Hamas will agree to something close to Witkoff’s proposal, three sources told The Times of Israel on Wednesday, after Hamas’s initial response last week was deemed unsatisfactory by both Witkoff and Israel.