Hostage families warn resumption of hostilities in Gaza ‘killing the captives’
Families Forum demands meeting with Netanyahu, urges public to protest outside his office as he confers with security chiefs; smaller, hardline Tikva Forum welcomes renewed strikes
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Tuesday sounded a desperate plea for the lives of their loved ones after Israel launched a deadly surprise attack in the Gaza Strip, ending the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.
The Forum slammed “the government’s decision to sacrifice the 59 captives” left in Gaza — alive and dead — and called on the public to join an emergency protest outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem starting at 11 a.m., as the premier huddles with security chiefs about the resumption of hostilities.
“There is nothing more urgent,” the Forum said, adding that “military pressure will lead to the killing of living hostages and the disappearance of the fallen.”
Israeli airstrikes across Gaza early Tuesday killed at least 326 people, according to the Strip’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The IDF said Tuesday afternoon that it was hitting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets across the Gaza Strip. Targets hit included cells of terror operatives, rocket-launching positions, weapons, and other military infrastructure, the IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement. The weapons and infrastructure were to have been used by the terror groups in planned attacks on Israel, the military added.
The attacks followed the expiration on March 2 of the ceasefire deal’s 42-day first phase, which saw Hamas release 33 Israeli hostages.
The deal was supposed to then transition to the second phase, which would have seen Israel withdraw from Gaza and Hamas release the remaining living hostages. However, Netanyahu, whose coalition’s right-wing flank has threatened to topple the government if Israel withdraws, has held off on negotiating the second phase, despite the deal requiring the commencement of talks on day 16 of the first phase.
In a statement on the airstrikes early Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said the renewed attack aimed to further Israel’s war aims of dismantling Hamas and freeing the hostages.
Many hostages’ families have argued that the aims contradict each other. The Families Forum said the statement from Netanyahu’s office was “complete misdirection,” adding: “Military pressure endangers hostages and soldiers.”
“The greatest fear of the families, of the hostages and of Israeli citizens has been realized,” said the Forum. “We are horrified, furious and scared by the intentional shattering of the process of returning our loved ones from the terrible Hamas captivity.”
Addressing the government, the Forum continued: “Why aren’t you fighting in the negotiations room? Why have you backed out of an agreement that could have brought everyone home?”
The Forum also demanded the prime minister, defense minister and security chiefs meet with the families and explain “how it will be guaranteed that the hostages won’t be harmed from the military pressure, and how [the government] plans to bring them back.”
“The hostages’ families have been begging for some time to meet with elected officials. Their pleas went unanswered,” the Forum said. “Now it’s clear: Elected officials didn’t meet with [the families] because they were planning to scuttle the ceasefire.”
The Forum also asked US President Donald Trump to “keep acting, as he’s declared and acted until now, for the release of all hostages.”
“The ceasefire must be resumed. Many lives are at stake,” it said. “There will be no security, no victory and no redemption until the last hostage returns home.”
Speaking to Hebrew media, freed hostages and family members slammed the renewed hostilities in Gaza.
Yehuda Cohen, father of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, was quoted by the Ynet news site saying that “Netanyahu is again working for the elimination and murder of the hostages, including my son, in order to stay in office.”
Noa Argamani, who was rescued from Hamas captivity in June and whose boyfriend Avinatan Or remains in Gaza, simply posted a broken heart emoji. So did hostage Omri Miran’s wife, Lishay.
— Noa Argamani (@ArgamaniNoa) March 18, 2025
In an interview with Kan public radio Tuesday morning, Lishay Miran accused the government of violating the agreement with Hamas, and urged the public to join the Families Forum’s demonstration in Jerusalem.
“Am I going to be sitting shiva soon?” she asked, referring to the weeklong Jewish mourning period after the death of a family member. “I’m no longer ashamed to ask that question. Do I need to prepare?”
Omri’s father Dani Miran told Army Radio that he was “horrified” to learn about the resumption of hostilities.
“For me, this is a black day,” he said. “I thought my son was going free in a week.”
He also assailed Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who assumed the role of IDF chief of staff earlier this month.
“This chief of staff was picked [to carry out] the government’s agenda,” said Dani Miran. “And its agenda is war.”
Avinatan Or, Nimrod Cohen and Omri Miran are among the 24 hostages still thought to be alive, who would have been released in the ceasefire’s second phase. All are young men abducted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Terror groups in Gaza are also holding 35 captives whom the IDF has confirmed to be dead. These include the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war.
The smaller Tikva Forum of hostages’ families welcomed the attack on Gaza, saying that “if the attack that began this morning continues forcefully and without pause, we’ll be able to return all our loved ones at once.”
“The past few weeks have proved what we said the entire time — Hamas will never return the hostages of its own accord,” the Tikva Forum said, calling for Israel to seize parts of Gaza and cut off power and water to the Strip.
