Bereaved families, freed hostages demand state inquiry and return of 11 dead captives

Several rallies were held on Saturday evening calling for the return of the bodies of the 11 deceased hostages still held in Gaza amid the ongoing ceasefire-hostage deal, as well as urging the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught that started the war.

Speaking at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Eitan Horn, one of the final 20 living hostages released last month, said that for 738 days in Hamas captivity, “even when it was very difficult and frustrating, even when I was starved, even when bombs fell right next to me, I believed that I would return to my brothers, my family, my nation — you.”

Flanked by his brothers Amos and Iair — the latter of whom was freed in February as part of a previous ceasefire — Eitan Horn said it is “not yet time to sum things up.”

“I’m unwilling to go back to day-to-day life as long as 11 of my brothers are not brought back home,” he said. “A funeral and a grave are not a privilege, and we can’t wait any longer. We must bring them all back now.”

“I stand here today as a symbol of the abandonment and destruction of October 7,” he told the crowd after two years of weekly demonstrations for the hostages’ release. “I am also standing here as a symbol of your crazy power and the success of a civil struggle, maybe one of the most important in history. A struggle that will shape the future of our country.”

Yael Adar, whose son Tamir’s remains were returned by Hamas last week as part of the ceasefire — which has been billed as the “first stage” of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan — said Israel “must not proceed to the next phase of the agreement before the final hostage is returned.”

“That is the essence of not leaving anyone behind,” said Adar to the thousands of people gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

The remains of 11 deceased hostages are still held in Gaza, including Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed fighting in the 2014 Gaza war. The rest were abducted in the October 7 attack.

Adar recalled her early criticism of the US-brokered ceasefire deal for giving Hamas 72 hours to return the last 20 living hostages while not setting a firm deadline to hand over all the deceased captives.

On October 10, the IDF completed its redeployment in Gaza, and the 72-hour clock began ticking for Hamas to return the 20 living and 28 deceased hostages.

Before the ceasefire, the terror group was holding the bodies of 28 dead hostages. It has since returned 17 of them, along with all 20 remaining surviving hostages, out of the 251 who were abducted during the October 7 massacre.

Hamas claims it has not yet been able to locate the bodies of some of the remaining 11 hostages, saying it needs assistance in locating and recovering them.

“Too many ’72 hours’ have gone by and 11 hostages are still in Hamas captivity, robbed of any basic right to be buried with respect,” Adar said. “Hamas is playing with us — we left them an opening in the agreement and they’re taking advantage of it.”

“I swore to myself — Tamir will not have fallen in vain,” she said. “He is a sacrifice of social rehabilitation, which begins with the return of the final hostage.”

Hostage relatives call for commission of inquiry

In a separate event on Saturday night, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence on Azza Street in Jerusalem, calling for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7 attack, which the premier has refused to do for over two years, also declining so far to form any other form of inquiry.

The protest was led by the October Council, an organization representing hundreds of bereaved families, including relatives of hostages, residents of border communities, and survivors of the 2023 onslaught.

Chanting through megaphones and beating drums, protesters declared, “State commission of inquiry now — or escalation nationwide.”

“My son was murdered after hiding for hours, abandoned to die, and no one is investigating,” said Yoram Yehudai, whose son Ron, 24, was killed at the Nova music festival. “Netanyahu has refused to take responsibility for two years and is doing everything to block the truth.”

“The days when citizens are buried and leaders hide are over,” said Eyal Eshel, whose daughter, Sgt. Roni Eshel, 19, was killed at the Nahal Oz military base where she was serving as an observation soldier.

“Next week, tens of thousands will join us. We will not stay silent,” he said.

The October Council said Saturday’s protest was “only the first step” in a wave of nationwide demonstrations planned for the coming weeks.

“The government is busy concealing the truth — we are busy revealing it,” the group said in a statement. “We will continue on all fronts until a state commission of inquiry is established.”

The government has long opposed the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 catastrophe, originally on the grounds that such an inquiry could not be conducted while Israel was at war, but later due to accusations by several cabinet ministers that Supreme Court President Isaac Amit could not be trusted to appoint a fair-minded judge or retired judge to head the panel.

Netanyahu has avoided taking responsibility for the massacre, repeatedly asserting that the security establishment — not political leaders — failed to prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.

Polls show a majority of the Israeli public believes there should be a state commission of inquiry.