Hostage relatives depart for Gaza border in hopes of calling out to loved ones

Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

A convoy of cars leaving Tel Aviv's Hostages Square for the Gaza border on August 28, 2024 (Courtesy Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
A convoy of cars leaving Tel Aviv's Hostages Square for the Gaza border on August 28, 2024 (Courtesy Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

A convoy of hostage families is departing Tel Aviv and heading to the Gaza border, planning to call out to their loved ones early tomorrow morning using loudspeakers mounted on a crane.

The convoy will include trailers carrying cars that were burned and destroyed on October 7, and will arrive at Kibbutz Be’eri late this afternoon.

Before departing, hostage family members speak at Hostages Square, including Shira Albag, mother of Liri Albag, a surveillance soldier taken hostage on October 7.

“Where are you, government members? Where are you, elected officials?” says Albag. “What will be recorded in the history books of this cursed war is not whether we conquered the Philadelphi Corridor or how many terrorists we killed, but whether we cared for and brought our hostages home.”

Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, whose body is being held captive, thanks the US administration for all its help, and asks it to put pressure on all parties — Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas — to reach a hostage deal.

“One time the obstacle was called Rafah, now it’s called Philadelphi Corridor and the families understand that a ceasefire is needed in order to bring their loved ones home,” says Chen, referring to shifting sticking points over the last several months of negotiations.

Ziv Abud, who is engaged to hostage Eliya Cohen, and escaped being taken captive as she and Cohen ran to a field shelter from the Supernova desert rave, says she is traveling “to be as close to you as possible.”

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