Thousands rally in Tel Aviv for release of captives: ‘May be the last chance to save lives’

Joined by thousands of supporters, the families of Israelis held in Gaza are rallying at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to call for a deal to free the captives while warning that the planned conquest of Gaza City puts their loved ones’ lives at risk.

Liran Berman, whose brothers Gali and Ziv Berman were abducted by Palestinian terrorists during the October 2023 attack, notes the six captives who were executed by Hamas last year when Israeli forces unknowingly neared their location.

“Expanding the fighting only puts them and all the hostages at even greater risk,” he says. “There is a deal on the table. But deals do not last forever; their windows close fast and hard, as we have seen too many times before. This may be the last chance to save lives and to bring the fallen back.”

Roni Adar, whose brother Tamir Adar was killed fighting Hamas-led terrorists before they captured his remains, says she has been waiting for close to 690 days to bury him.

“In what world should a younger sister spend almost two years begging for the chance to stand at the grave of her older brother?” says Adar.

She adds, “Tamir must come home. Not because he was a hero, not because he was the first to fight, and not because they fought alone against the whole world. Simply because he is, above all, a human being. A man who loved life and loved living. Who loved Israel — both its land and its people.”