From the Liveblog of
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Hostage families unite with top diplomats and pop stars in bid for global support
Family members of the hostages are leading a large rally this evening in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, urging the international community to support and work for the release of the 125 captives held by Hamas in Gaza.
As stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas dampen hopes for a deal in the near future, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is organizing the rally to reach out to those across the globe, emphasizing that the hostages who remain in the Strip are not just from Israel, but hold citizenship of 24 different countries.
Speeches from hostage families will feature those who hold foreign citizenship, including US citizen Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui Dekel-Chen is a hostage; Argentine-Israeli Itzik Horn, whose sons Eitan and Yair Horn are held captive; Ayala Yahalomi, sister of French-Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi and Russian-Israeli Evgeny Kozlov, whose son Andrey Kozlov is a hostage.
Top American, British and German diplomats will also address the crowd.
Speakers will include US Ambassador Jack Lew, UK Ambassador Simon Walters, German Ambassador Steffen Seibert, and Austrian Ambassador Nikolaus Lutterotti.
The screen on stage will display pre-recorded video messages from former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and talk show host Dr. Phil, who recently interviewed hostage families in Israel, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Live music performances will also spotlight at this rally, with a star-studded lineup including former Eurovision stars Netta Barzilai, who won the song contest in 2018, and Eden Golan, who will perform “October Rain,” the original version of the official Eurovision entry “Hurricane,” which had several verses removed by organizers because they referred to the October 7 massacre by Hamas. Israeli singer-songwriter Noga Erez and American singer Montana Tucker will also perform for the crowd.
Earlier this week on Thursday, the UN Security Council held its first meeting solely addressing the hostages issue, hearing the testimonies of hostages’ families and calling for the release of those who remain captive in Gaza with three successive resolutions.
