Israel begins the Passover festival of freedom, dimmed by absence of hostages held in Gaza

Members of Kibbutz Be'eri set the table for a Passover Seder at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. April 22, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Members of Kibbutz Be'eri set the table for a Passover Seder at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. April 22, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Jewish holiday of Passover begins in Israel this evening, with families around the country gathering for the “Seder” festive meal.

Jews traditionally read through the Haggadah on Passover eve, which recounts the story of the Israelites’ freedom from slavery and exodus from Egypt.

But this year festivities are overshadowed by the absence of 129 hostages held in Gaza since October 7, when they were kidnapped by terrorists during Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel.

Some 500 members of the Kibbutz Be’eri community are holding a Passover Seder in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, in a cry to free their loved ones.

On October 7, 100 Kibbutz Be’eri members were among some 1,200 killed by Hamas terrorists and 30 were taken hostage to Gaza. Eleven of those hostages remain in Gaza, six were murdered in captivity and 13 others were released at the end of November. The kibbutz numbered some 1,000 on October 6.

The event, for Kibbutz Be’eri members only, is expected to include a clear call to the government to do everything possible to bring the hostages home and to return the deceased for burial.

It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that.

Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 12 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military. The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 34 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.

Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

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