From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 17, 2025
Starting march to Knesset, hostages’ families thank Trump, say resumption of war is ‘death sentence’
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Holding a handmade sign featuring the images of hostages whose families have recently received signs of life from released captives, Shai Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat who was murdered at the end of August in captivity, says at the start of the 500th-day march to the Knesset that the hostages’ families already experienced the end of one ceasefire in November 2023.
“If war [re]starts, it is a death sentence for many of the hostages,” says Dickmann.
“More than 80 years ago, my grandmother was in the Holocaust and waited for nations to help her, but she suffered and survived and came here to help create a nation of ideals so that it wouldn’t happen again,” says Dickmann. “We can’t wait for other nations to decide our fate; we must save them now that we have a state so that it won’t happen again.”
Uri Goren, cousin of Tal Haimi, who was killed on October 7, 2023, and whose body was taken to Gaza and is still held there, says that as details emerge of what released hostages have undergone in captivity, it is essential to bring all the hostages home.
Speaking in English, he expresses his gratitude to US President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
He says that Trump has shown leadership and Witkoff has clearly stated that the administration is committed to releasing the hostages and showing it understands.
“The deceased hostages must come back for [a] final resting place,” says Goren, adding that the only way to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people is to bring back every last hostage in order to rebuild areas of Gaza and bring healing to all people.
