Hostage’s father: Iran war was great but ‘we won’t forget and won’t forgive’ gov’t over Oct. 7

Some 1,500 anti-government protesters return to the Begin Road entrance to the IDF’s Tel Aviv headquarters for their first weekend rally in three weeks, following the 12-day war with Iran that ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday.

An Iranian missile hit a residential building on the other side of the military base in the first days of the war. Debris from the missile struck buildings on the Begin Road side as well. A bakery and cafe that made brisk business during the protests are now boarded up and undergoing renovations.

Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan Horn and freed captive Iair Horn, says that despite “what we did in Iran, which was a great thing… we won’t forget and won’t forgive” the government for the failure to avert the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

“Since October 7, no minister or member of Knesset from the coalition has spoken to me,” says Horn.

He also assails the truce-hostage deal offer proposed by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, which would see hostilities pause for 60 days during which Hamas would release roughly half the living and dead captives, in multiple phases.

“According to the Witkoff framework, half the hostages stay behind,” says Horn, likening such a release to the Nazis’ selektzia, or selection, of Jews deemed fit for hard labor from those sent straight to the slaughter.

“It’s impossible to explain why the prime minister always chooses to release the hostages piecemeal,” says Horn.