‘Sign a deal now’: Tens of thousands around country say hostage release is now or never
Amid reports sides edging closer to potential agreement on Gaza ceasefire, protesters say remaining captives are running out of time
Weekly demonstrations calling for a hostage deal and new elections drew tens of thousands across the country Saturday night, amid tentative hopes that Israel’s ongoing negotiations with Hamas have put a hostage-ceasefire agreement within reach.
In Tel Aviv, tens of thousands of demonstrators, including relatives of those held hostage in Gaza, gathered at the so-called Hostages Square for a rally demanding their loved ones’ return, and pled with the prime minister and negotiating team to arrive at an agreement before time runs out.
Speaking at the rally, Ilay David, whose brother Eviatar David, 23, is captive in Gaza, addressed Netanyahu and the negotiating team, declaring, “the time has come to make sure that every hostage returns home right away.”
“You have the full support of the Israeli nation. Don’t be afraid to make the most moral and most Jewish decision and return our hostages home,” he said.
Some protesters highlighted their demand for a deal through provocative displays, including an individual in a Netanyahu mask leaning over another person representing a dead and bloodied hostage, with a banner next to him reading “I added clauses, hostages died. Sorry,” in reference to allegations that Netanyahu has introduced new demands during the negotiations which have delayed an agreement.
A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday that mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar believe the final “bridging proposal” submitted by Washington closes just about all remaining gaps between Israel and the Palestinian terror group.
Mor Shoham, whose brother Tal Shoham, 38, remains captive after six other members of his family were released in November, appealed to Jewish tradition, saying, “Whoever saves one life, it is as though he saved a whole world,” paraphrasing an ancient rabbinic statement, and inviting demonstrators to repeat the phrase after him.
Shoham emphasized the urgency of the moment, telling the crowd, “No Israeli citizen believes the hostages have more time, and so there must be a deal now. ‘Now’ is not a slogan like ‘total victory,’ it’s a plan of action — the only one there is. Netanyahu, sign a deal now!” he said.
Eli Albag, whose daughter Liri Albag, 19, was abducted from the Nahal Oz military base, emphasized that he believes the moment is ripe for a deal, and that the choice is between finalizing an agreement or moving to a major regional war whose outcome cannot be predicted: “Hamas wants [an agreement] too, and Hezbollah,” he said, “If there isn’t a deal — there will be an awful war.”
In his speech, Albag addressed criticism directed at hostage families, telling those who question their rhetoric or tactics, “You have no right to speak until your children are kidnapped. Then, if your children are kidnapped, you can criticize as much as you want, however you want. But as long as your children are not kidnapped, shut up.”
Yarden Gonen, whose captive sister Romi Gonen turns 24 on Sunday, read a message to her, asking “How can I continue to exist in this world, when I see people aren’t doing everything they can to return the hostages?”
Gonen revealed at the end of her speech that this message was composed on her own birthday, some eight months ago, and lamented its continued relevance now.
Romi Gonen was abducted from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, when some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
The Hostages Families Forum is planning an event on Sunday in Jaffa to commemorate Romi Gonen’s birthday, inviting attendees to wear leopard print or yellow attire to embody the young abductee’s vibrant spirit.
It is believed that 111 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 39 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 24 hostages have also been recovered, including three abductees mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
The Hostages Forum noted that its rally was being held per Home Front Command guidelines, which are currently unchanged, though the IDF is on “peak alert” for potential attacks from Iran or Hezbollah over the killings of top terror leaders.
Nearby, at the intersection of Begin Road and Kaplan Street, dubbed Democracy Square, anti-government protesters, including some hostage families, held a rally, too.
In an invitation to the public posted on social media Friday evening, organizers cited a Channel 12 poll which found that 63 percent of Israelis support a hostage deal, compared to only 12% who oppose it (25% are unsure).
“The nation wants the hostages home,” the “Kulanu Hatufim” [We are all hostage] group of around a dozen hostage families posted on X. Kulanu Hatufim is known for fiery protests outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv and for blocking the Ayalon Highway every Saturday night, often after joining the official Hostages Forum demonstration.
At the same time, Tzvika Mor, father of Eitan Mor, who was kidnapped to Gaza when working as a security guard at the Nova festival, said in a statement Friday that he strongly opposes a deal, which “could kill my child” and the other young men who will remain in Gaza after the first stage.
“Only victory will free them all,” wrote Mor, a member of the Tikva Forum of Hostages’ Families, which has taken a hawkish stance on the war.
“What reason will the senior Hamas officials have to release the young men in the next stages, when they know that as soon as they release these human shields, Israel will immediately eliminate the Hamas leadership? I am desperately worried that this deal could kill my beloved child Eitan, along with the other hostages left behind in Gaza after the first stage,” wrote Mor.
“Only a crushing victory that leads to the disintegration of Hamas will free the… hostages from the clutches of the terrorists,” he said.
Along with the mass demonstration in Tel Aviv, protests were staged in cities around the country, drawing thousands of demonstrators.
Thousands participated in protests in Jerusalem and Haifa, with demonstrators leading a procession through Haifa bearing a banner declaring “Whoever abandons one life, it is as though they have abandoned the whole world,” a reference to the same aphorism invoked by Shoham.
In Ness Ziona, the grandfather of hostage Naama Levy addressed a demonstration for an immediate hostage release deal, while other protesters engaged in performance art. Two women dressed up as bound and blindfolded hostages with a banner behind them reading “What if this was your daughter?”
Other demonstrations were held in Hadera, Kiryat Tivon, Karmiel Junction in northern Israel, Caesarea outside Netanyahu’s private residence, and in numerous other locales around the country.
The Times of Israel Community.