Hostages’ relatives take shifts at Defense Ministry, worry plight is now ‘white noise’
Loved ones of those held hostage hold vigil outside military headquarters in Tel Aviv: ‘This country stopped on October 7, and it can’t go on unless they come home’
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Since Saturday night, families of the hostages have been taking shifts outside the entrance to the Defense Ministry compound in Tel Aviv, under the shadow of the Azrieli towers and along a congested stretch of Begin Road.
At 29 minutes past each hour, a group of supporters holding placards blocks the access road to the compound for 240 seconds, as one of the family members spends those four minutes speaking about their loved one held hostage in Gaza.
Twenty-nine minutes marks the time that the Hamas massacre began, at 6:29 a.m. on October 7, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people. Two hundred and forty is a reminder of the original number of people taken hostage to Gaza, now down to 128.
At 2:29 p.m. on Tuesday, the sister of hostage Yagev Buchshtav spoke about her big brother, a musician and soundman who builds his own instruments.
She also spoke about his wife, Rimon Kirsht Buchshtav, who was freed during the temporary ceasefire, and their five cats and five dogs, the last of which was finally found after it wandered around their community of Kibbutz Nirim for weeks.
Four minutes later, she stopped speaking, and those blocking the road returned to the sidewalk as a line of cars exited onto Begin Street, one of Tel Aviv’s main thoroughfares.
“This location helps because we stand here, at the Defense Ministry, where generals and soldiers see us and the security guards already know us,” said Nadav Rudaeff, whose father, Lior Rudaeff, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7.
This noisy spot outside the Defense Ministry is where other families of hostages have stood, off and on, over the last two months, along with a stretch along nearby Kaplan Street and the renamed Hostages Square, outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Rudaeff is the only member of his family who isn’t in Eilat, where Nir Yitzhak members were evacuated to after the Hamas onslaught. He spends about 16 hours a day at this Defense Ministry encampment, where some people sleep on the cold cement and others come in shifts.
The encampment has gotten busier since Friday, after hostages Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Shamriz were accidentally shot and killed by IDF soldiers in a tragic set of errors.
Since then, the families of the remaining 128 hostages are “living with more and more fear,” said Hila Idan, whose cousin, Tsahi Idan, was abducted by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
They’re fearful about how their loved ones are faring, and whether they can get them home to Israel. Now they’re gathering here every day, along with friends and supporters, to make their mission clear.
Hila Idan, from nearby Ramat Gan, was doing her shift at the encampment at the Defense Ministry, known as the Kirya in Hebrew, with two other cousins, Moriah Idan from the northern town of Rosh Hanikra and Amir Idan, from Kibbutz Sa’ar in the Western Galilee.
“The whole family is doing shifts, around the clock,” said Amir Idan.
“It’s a very big family,” added Hila Idan, “we hold each other and have to be strong for Gali and the kids,” she said, referring to Tsahi’s wife and two surviving children. Their eldest daughter was killed by terrorists on October 7.
Aside from the families and loved ones of the hostages, Rudaeff thinks the Israeli public is returning to regular life.
“It’s been 74 days and I don’t blame anyone, but we can’t let the hostages become part of the white noise,” he said.
Rudaeff grew up in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, where rockets, sirens and attempted terrorist attacks were a regular part of life, and now lives in Tel Aviv.
He spends about 16 hours a day as an active part of the efforts to bring the hostages home, including in this new location. One thing he doesn’t do is sleep in one of the tents outside the ministry, explaining that he can’t function during the day if his bed is the sidewalk.
Nearby stood Galit Katzenellenbogen, whose first cousin, Elad Katzir, is still held hostage after his mother, Hanna Katzir, was released and his father, Rami Katzir, was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
“Murdered, not killed,” corrected Maya Palty, another Katzir cousin standing nearby who lives in Moshav Nir Moshe, southeast of Sderot.
Much of Palty’s husband’s family lives in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and they’ve all been reeling from the sorrow and mourning of those they lost on October 7, attending funeral after funeral. They were also taking a shift for Elad Katzir on Tuesday afternoon.
The military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group published a video Tuesday evening of Israeli hostages Gadi Mozes and Elad Katzir, in which they call on Israel’s leadership to urgently act to bring about their release. The new video was the first sign of life from them.
Seemingly speaking under duress, the pair are heard in separate clips warning they could die at any moment due to IDF strikes in Gaza.
“We have a Google doc to keep track of who [in the family] can come and do a shift,” said Katzenellenbogen. “When Elad comes back, I want to be able to look him in the eye and know that I did what I could to help him come home. This country stopped on October 7, and it can’t go on unless they come home.”
