Hostages’ families block PM’s Knesset office, demand Gaza deal after Lebanon truce
Relative argues if Israel can still act in Lebanon in case of violation, it can do so in Strip as well; captive’s mom confronts Ben Gvir, who says he won’t free ‘1,000 Sinwars’
Relatives of hostages held for over a year in the Gaza Strip temporarily blocked the entrance to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Knesset office on Wednesday, demanding that he meet with them and promote a hostage deal to free their loved ones.
The demonstration came a day after Netanyahu and his government approved a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the premier explaining that the deal would not prevent Israel from resuming the fighting if the Lebanese terror group tries to reestablish its presence near the border.
Eli Albag, whose young daughter Liri was taken captive during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught last year, said that just as Netanyahu managed to seal a deal to end the fighting in Lebanon, he must do so in Gaza as well.
“If you want to, you can. Please, we are begging you from the bottom of our hearts,” Albag said.
The protesters were later removed by Knesset security.
They then went down one floor and blocked the stairs leading to the faction wing of the building, where the various political parties hold meetings and press conferences.
משפחות חטופים מתבצרות במדרגות הכנסת אחרי שהזיזו אותן מהכניסה ללשכת רה"מ
מלמעלה צופים עליהם חכ סוכות והיועץ המורשע של השר לבטחון לאומי גופשטיין pic.twitter.com/bnDoeNu4ne
— Noa Shpigel (@NoaShpigel) November 27, 2024
Sharon Sharabi, the brother of captive Eli Sharabi and slain hostage Yossi Sharabi, made a similar argument.
“We have reached a ceasefire while there is still tangible danger to residents of the north and Israeli citizens, and while Hezbollah maintains abilities the IDF hasn’t yet eliminated, [and] we understand that it is possible to leave Lebanon and also return to Lebanon,” Sharabi said.
Similarly, he argued, “It is possible to leave Gaza [for a deal] and return to Gaza when we need to — but first of all our hostages must be home.”
Meanwhile, the families of the seven remaining American-Israeli hostages lamented that their “Thanksgiving tables will have an empty chair again,” as they readied to mark a second holiday without them.
“While we are encouraged by this ceasefire deal in Lebanon, we ask ourselves: When will our children, parents, sisters and brothers come home? We cannot allow their chairs at our tables to sit forever empty,” the families said in a joint statement.
“We urge [US] President-elect [Donald] Trump and his transition team to work together with President [Joe] Biden and his administration officials to bring seven Americans – Omer Neutra, Edan Alexander, Judi Weinstein, Gad Haggai, Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Itay Chen – and the additional 94 hostages home now,” they added.
Multiple initiatives to reach a deal to halt the Israel-Hamas fighting and return the remaining hostages, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, have fallen through as Hamas has insisted on the end of the war and withdrawal of all IDF forces — terms that Netanyahu has rejected. Hamas is also demanding the release of thousands of Palestinian security prisoners, including many terror convicts.
Shouting match at Knesset committee
Separately on Wednesday, the outspoken mother of a hostage held in Gaza got into a heated argument with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at a Knesset National Security Committee meeting, accusing him of being more concerned with rebuilding settlements in the Strip than with the fate of the 101 captives held there.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zaungauker, who has often voiced her fiery criticism of the government, said that “yesterday you said that the hostages need a little bit of patience,” prompting a denial from Ben Gvir that he had spoken of hostages. (On Tuesday evening, Ben Gvir was asked about the possibility of a hostage deal during an interview with Channel 12 news and answered that “we need some patience to bring Hamas to its knees.”)
Zangauker charged that while dozens of hostages who are no longer alive “are buried dozens of meters below ground,” Ben Gvir wants to build roads and towns “and settle Gaza on their blood without bringing them home for burial.”
“This isn’t Jewish values,” she asserted as Ben Gvir shook his head and looked pained. “The hostages are suffering in body and soul, and you’re allowing this to continue. Where is your cry for the redemption of captives and solidarity? Why not agree to a hostage deal?”
Asked how long he could leave her son in captivity and why he believes a hostage deal would be dangerous, Ben Gvir responded that October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar was released in a 2011 deal, along with over 1,000 other Palestinian security prisoners, in exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit, and that a new agreement would likewise result in the freeing of dangerous terrorists and “tens of thousands” of Israeli deaths in the future.
Israel has an obligation to “do everything to release the hostages but we also have a responsibility for the lives of Israeli citizens. I will not allow the release of 1,000 Sinwars under any circumstances,” Ben Gvir said.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas in the October 7 attack remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in November 2023, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
