Families of hostages appeal to IDF chief for meeting over looming Gaza City offensive

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum renews its demand for an urgent meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir after he was quoted in the media casting doubt over plans to conquer Gaza City and what the government hopes to accomplish with the offensive.

“Your statements clearly indicate that Operation Chariots of Gideon II will not bring about Hamas’s surrender and will lead to an endless war in the Strip, nullifying all military achievements gained at tremendous cost,” the Forum writes in an open letter to Zamir.

“We can no longer wait. We demand an immediate meeting. We demand that you refrain from unnecessary action that will, by definition, result in the killing and murder of our loved ones,” the families write. “The IDF must present a clear policy to the public and families: no more living hostages murdered in captivity as a result of military pressure, and no more bodies disappearing under rubble, losing any chance to locate them and return them for proper burial.”