Incalculable human episodes of the bloody war between Israel and Palestine remain hidden or relegated to the atrocity of the conflict. The geopolitical vision, the allies, the attacks, the dead and displaced occupy the attention of the international community. An increasingly vigorous voice is being heard in Tel Aviv. Families of hostages in the Gaza Strip, tired and heartbroken, demand a firm and guarantor position from the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, but it does not arrive.
These Israeli families have faced, during almost eight months of conflict, the heartbreak of not having their loved ones and knowing that they are being mistreated at the hands of terrorist groups. To get the attention of the authorities, they have organized themselves and every day they gather in the streets and squares to ask for the release of their children, parents, husbands, in prison since the start of the war.
This week they hardened their position. They agreed to publish a hitherto unknown video. Several young women are seen sitting, tied and covered in blood against a wall. All of them Israel Defense Forces personnel were kidnapped. They were scouts who had been monitoring the border with the Gaza Strip on the night of October 7. And many of his companions did not survive.
Hamas men, they are filming them. “Here are the girls, these are the Zionists,” says one. Then he turns to one of them: “You are so beautiful,” he says. Spiegel.
The images were previously published by Hamas, according to the Hostage Families Forum. The activist group obtained them from the IDF, which edited the video to exclude the most disturbing scenes.
Hostage families in Gaza desperate
The video shocked Israeli society and focused the world’s attention on the fate of the remaining hostages. All these months of the Israel-Hamas conflict have passed since terrorists from the Gaza Strip entered the Israeli border area, murdered some 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250.
Since then, 105 have been freed through a hostage deal, three were freed by the military and some returned home in coffins. More than a hundred remain captive. Their families are doing everything they can to ensure they are not forgotten.
The video has been made public as pressure mounts on Netanyahu to secure the release of Israelis still held by Hamas, which his government has made a key target of the Gaza offensive. In recent months, numerous attempts to reach an agreement with Hamas to obtain a ceasefire in exchange for hostages have failed. And it has angered those campaigning in Israel for the return of the captives.
“The State of Israel cannot accept a reality in which its citizens feel that their lives are threatened. And they suffer from incessant fear and anxiety,” said the Hostage Families Forum.
Einav Zangauker stands out from the group of hostage families. Before a demonstration gathered on a bridge in Tel Aviv he took the microphone. “They say I’m a lioness,” he cried, “but I’m just a mother!” His voice breaks and the crowd applauds. “Now! Now!
Video generates commotion in Israel
Before February, Zangauker had never attended a protest in his life. But on October 7th he changed his life. His son Matan, now 24 years old, was living in Kibbutz Nir Oz, right on the border when he was detained by guerrilla groups. When she talks about Benjamin Netanyahu, she does not say ‘Bibi’ disparagingly, like many others, but rather “my prime minister.”
Even after the fateful date, Einav wanted to trust him. She believed that military pressure on Gaza would make the hostages return home more quickly. But weeks and months passed without her son returning. When more than a hundred women and children were freed in the first hostage deal, Matan’s girlfriend was among them. Since then, the military has released two more hostages alive and several dead people have been recovered, most recently German-Israeli Shani Louk.
In view of the pressure, the government invited the relatives for an interview. Zangauker listened as officials explained that the war would soon lead to the return of his brothers, children and parents. Zangauker asked how this would happen. To which Netanyahu responded: “You can be sure that we will do everything possible.” He argued that “the cruelty of the Hamas terrorists only strengthens my determination to fight vigorously until the destruction of Hamas. “To ensure that what we saw tonight (the video) does not happen again.”
Then, suddenly, Einav realized that he didn’t believe him anymore. His prime minister’s war would never bring his son back, only a new hostage deal would. Like her, other hostage families in Gaza are withdrawing their support for the Israeli government.
Found positions
Families of hostages held by terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip say they are being subjected to relentless online abuse, much of it coming from those opposed to a deal to free the captives.
Representatives of the families described the harassment during a meeting with War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and War Cabinet observers Gadi Eisenkot and Shas party leader Aryeh Deri.
“We receive a lot of curses on the networks, people who call us traitorous leftists and say ‘I hope they die there,’” said a representative during the meeting, according to reports. Channel 12.
Deri told them to ignore the abuse and encouraged them to keep talking. “Continue on your way. It’s background noise,” Deri said. “Speaking before a broad consensus, before the Israeli public. The majority is with you.”
The hostages’ families and their supporters have publicly campaigned for the government to prioritize the release of their loved ones. Even at the cost of ending the fighting, which puts them at odds with the official leaders. And a large part of the public who insist that the war must continue until Hamas is defeated.
They demand a firm position from the government
One of the women seen in the video, Ori Megidish, was rescued by the IDF in a special operation 23 days after being captured. Another, Noa Marciano, an Israeli army corporal, was killed while in Gaza and her body was returned to Israel in November.
But five of the seven (Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy) remain in captivity, more than seven months after being taken across the border.
Naama Levy’s mother told cnn already The Times of Israel that bringing them home is not one of the Israeli government’s top priorities. And he claimed that some members of the government didn’t even see the video.
«Ministers and members of the government were asked to watch a version of this video at their meetings. Some of them refused and said we want to sleep well at night,” said Ayelet Levy Shachar.
Efforts to reach an agreement that would stop the war in Gaza and allow the release of the hostages have been repeatedly frustrated. Earlier this month, Hamas said Israel’s rejection of a ceasefire plan put forward by mediators in the negotiations in Cairo had brought hostage release talks back to “square one.”
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