Government ministers paid tribute to members of the Tikva and Gvura forums, groups that consistently opposed negotiated exchanges with Hamas that would have freed Palestinian security prisoners in return for phased hostage releases.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On Monday, Israel’s Knesset held a ceremony that honored only those bereaved and hostage families who backed the government’s war strategy, while excluding relatives who had demonstrated throughout the conflict for broader hostage-release deals, Times of Israel reports.

The gathering, initiated by Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal, drew sharp reactions from families left off the invitation list and from the larger Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

At the event, government ministers paid tribute to members of the Tikva and Gvura forums, groups that consistently opposed negotiated exchanges with Hamas that would have freed Palestinian security prisoners in return for phased hostage releases.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by video, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the two forums, arguing that they represented resilience during what he called the “War of Revival.”

Smotrich later told Haaretz that the honorees “stood against voices calling for defeat and surrender, who weakened the nation and strengthened – despite the best of intentions – Hamas.” He claimed those views extended the plight of the hostages.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a blistering response, saying “the decisive majority of the hostage families were intentionally excluded from the event,” and accused officials of attempting “to erase the memory of the great failure of October 7.”

The forum said 46 hostages were killed during their captivity and added that its persistent public pressure helped bring home 254 people over two years. It noted that one body, belonging to police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, remains in Gaza.

Smotrich urged Education Minister Yoav Kisch to award the Israel Prize to the Tikva and Gvura forums, saying the families “withstood tests that none of us could withstand” and provided “moral validation” to decision-makers.

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Captivity survivor Eitan Horn arrived at the group’s offices on Wednesday and thanked Check Point founder Gil Shwed for allowing the workers, volunteers, and hostages’ families to occupy the building for more than two years.

By JNS

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced on Wednesday it was ending its activities “in its current form.”

The Israeli group launched its operation the day after thousands of terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, butchering roughly 1,200 and kidnapping 251 more into the Strip.

The Forum stated on X that it was closing its headquarters on 13 Leonardo da Vinci Street in Tel Aviv, marking 817 days since “that cursed Saturday.”

However, it added that it will not end its mission until the last deceased hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, returns from Gaza.

Captivity survivor Eitan Horn arrived at the group’s offices on Wednesday and thanked Check Point founder Gil Shwed for allowing the workers, volunteers, and hostages’ families to occupy the building for more than two years.

In a separate X post on Wednesday, the Forum, also known for its slogan “Bring Them Home,” stated that “More than anything we wanted for Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza, to come home this year. We counted down the days until New Year’s Eve, praying that by then he would be back home… And even if he is not home by then, we are not stopping until Rani is home.”

The Gvili family had met earlier this week with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

They presented the president with a specially prepared display featuring Gvili’s ammunition pouch, which was recovered from the battle site in Kibbutz Alumim, adjacent to the Gaza Strip, in which he fell.

The pouch was placed in a display case, with a drawing of the 24-year-old Israel Police Special Patrol Unit (Yasam) officer and Israeli and American flags.

The display reads, “First one in, last one out.” And, “From hero to hero, President Trump—I am asking you to bring me home to Israel. Ran Gvili.”

The pouch “symbolizes the power of mutual responsibility” and Gvili’s “determination as he saved hundreds of Nova festival attendees and prevented terrorists from infiltrating Kibbutz Alumim,” according to the Forum.

When the massacre began, Gvili left his house in Meitar, put on his uniform and headed out to fight. About 10 days before he had broken his shoulder, and was waiting for surgery, yet he still chose to join the battle.

The Forum vowed to continue fighting for the fallen hostage’s right to return home.

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Families say recognition rewards Hamas, violates international law.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum blasted the UK and other European countries on Wednesday for recognizing or threatening to recognize a Palestinian state while Israeli hostages remain captive in Gaza.

“Recognizing a Palestinian state while 50 hostages are still trapped in Hamas tunnels amounts to rewarding terrorism,” said the group in a sharp statement.

They called such moves a “dangerous moral and political failure.”

The forum, which represents families of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, warned that recognition “legitimizes horrific war crimes.”

In response to growing European initiatives to recognize a Palestinian state:

Recently, we’ve seen an increase in initiatives calling for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state – all while 50 hostages have been held captive by Hamas for 663 days.

Recognizing a…

— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) July 30, 2025

The group said any recognition of Palestinian statehood before the hostages are freed “cannot and should not serve as the foundation for establishing a state.”

“If the international community truly desires peace, it must join U.S. efforts by demanding first the release of all hostages, followed by an end to the fighting,” they urged.

They said recognizing Palestine now would “be remembered throughout history as validating terrorism as a legitimate pathway to political goals.”

The statement came after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would recognize Palestine as soon as September if Israel does not take concrete steps toward peace.

France had made a similar declaration days earlier—without conditions—prompting Malta to follow suit.

Norway, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia have already formally recognized a Palestinian state.

Starmer’s move triggered outrage in Jerusalem and drew criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Hamas “should not be rewarded.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims.

A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.

Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen.”

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 29, 2025

Emily Damari, a former Hamas hostage and dual UK-Israeli citizen, also took to X to criticize the Starmer government’s stance.

“By legitimising a state entity while Hamas still controls Gaza and continues its campaign of terror, you are not promoting a solution; you are prolonging the conflict,” she wrote.

“Recognition under these conditions emboldens extremists and undermines any hope for genuine peace. Shame on you.”

As a Dual British-Israeli citizen who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, I am deeply saddened by your decision @Keir_Starmer to recognise Palestinian statehood. This move does not advance peace—it risks rewarding terror. It sends a dangerous message: that violence earns… https://t.co/G4DF5AWgjT

— Emily Damari (@EmilyDamari1) July 30, 2025

The UK government pushed back on Netanyahu’s criticism.

“This is not a reward for Hamas,” said British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander in interviews on Wednesday. “Hamas is a vile terrorist organization that has committed appalling atrocities. This is about the Palestinian people.”

She said Britain was acting out of concern for starving children in Gaza and to pressure Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.

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The latest proposal, if implemented, would call for a 60-day truce coinciding with a phased release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased captives.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

As Hamas gave initial approval on Friday for discussing a hostage release deal, the terror group announced they had “reservations” about the plan.

The Hostages Families Forum criticized the proposal and any “partial deal” that would stop short of releasing all of the captives at once.

An Israeli official announced that Israel was examining Hamas’s response to the framework and that the Security Cabinet was meeting to discuss the plan.

The proposal, if implemented, would call for a 60-day truce coinciding with a phased release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased captives.

On Friday, Hamas responded “positively” to the new proposal and indicated it was ready to begin proximity talks “immediately,” however, the terror group expressed reservations about several points the deal.

Hamas was concerned that a permanent ceasefire might not be the ultimate outcome of the 60-day truce and negotiations. Although the talks can be renewed throughout the process, the terror group claimed that Israel could exploit the framework as an opportunity to continue the war.

Secondly, Hamas insists that the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) no longer be allowed to distribute aid and that the previous mechanism approved by the UN be reinstated.

Israel supports aid distribution through GHF, stating that Hamas has stolen aid through the previous mechanism.

Hamas also demanded that the IDF retreat to the areas they had maintained before the ceasefire collapsed last March.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum made an uncharacteristic and extended criticism of the current hostage deal being negotiated because of the plan to release hostages in phases, and to free only 10 living captives and return just 18 bodies of deceased hostages during the 60-day truce.

In a statement, the Forum said, “The agonizing selections and phased approach are a torment to the families of all 50 hostages, both living and deceased. At this critical juncture, we must not conform to these Schindler-type lists, since it was possible to bring them all back long ago.”

The statement also said,”The separation and categorization that increase the anguish of the families must end. All could be returned through a comprehensive agreement that would free the last hostage. This is the correct, ethical, and Zionist thing to do. We will bring them back, we will rise.”

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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu avoided the word “deal” in a speech extolling the political horizons that have opened as a result of Operation Rising Lion.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

In a first, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned on Sunday the issue of freeing hostages before that of defeating Hamas, although he avoided using the word “deal” when doing so.

Speaking at the headquarters of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), he reordered the list of priorities he had long mentioned when discussing Israel’s goals for the war in the Gaza Strip.

“First of all, to rescue the hostages,” he said. “Of course, we will also have to solve the Gaza issue, to defeat Hamas, but I estimate that we will achieve both tasks.”

Until now, the government had spoken first of destroying the terror organization that led the invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, massacring 1,200 people and kidnapping 251, sparking the ongoing war.

The switch was immediately noted, especially by the main group that has always demanded the return of the hostages over a military victory against Hamas that would eliminate it as a continuing threat to the security of the country.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum praised what they called Netanyahu’s shift, saying in a statement, “The families of the hostages welcome the fact that after 20 months, the return of the hostages has finally been designated as the top priority by the prime minister.”

“This is a very important statement that must translate into a single comprehensive deal to bring back all 50 hostages and end the fighting in Gaza,” it added.

Only 20 of those being held captive are still believed to be alive.

As noted immediately by several media outlets, Netanyahu, a master wordsmith, talked of “rescuing” hostages rather than referring to any kind of deal to free them.

Last week, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he expected a ceasefire in Gaza “within the next week,” and according to at least one American official, the White House has put forward a deal that would liberate all of the captives while sending Hamas leaders into exile.

Senior Israeli officials told the local news outlet Ynet on Sunday that while discussions regarding deals are “ongoing at all times,” there is “no breakthrough” as yet.

Trump is eager to use the momentum established with the victory over Iran in the recently concluded Operation Rising Lion to expand the number of Arab states that normalized relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term as president.

Netanyahu referred to this possibility when he told his Shin Bet audience that “as you surely know, many opportunities have opened for us following this victory,” referring specifically to the Middle East.

Beside removing a terrible danger to Israel, the destruction of a majority of Shiite Muslim Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile programs has also removed a major threat to the Sunni Arab countries in the region, first and foremost Saudi Arabia, which is aware of this.

However, Riyadh has made clear that it is holding back due to the Hamas-Israel war.

The post In a first, Netanyahu mentions freeing hostages before defeating Hamas appeared first on World Israel News.

“The justification for the military activity is solely for the release of all our abductees together, without selection and stages.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Tikva Forum, an organization for hostage families who support military pressure on Hamas to free captives, said that continued Israeli airstrikes in Gaza are “the right direction” to bring their loved ones home.

The Forum was responding to repeated calls by the Hostages and Missing Families Forums to immediately end the war to free the 58 captives remaining in Gaza.

Calling for the destruction of Hamas, the Tikva Forum said, “The justification for the military activity is solely for the release of all our abductees together, without selection and stages.”

On Friday morning, the Hostage and Missing Families Forums said that Israel is wasting valuable opportunities provided by US President Donald Trump to make diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages.

In March, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum expressed their belief that a return to fighting would endanger the captives and characterized the breaking of the ceasefire as “the government’s decision to sacrifice the captives left in Gaza.”

The Forum added, “Military pressure will lead to the killing of living hostages and the disappearance of the fallen.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the importance of returning the hostages. Still, given the breakdown in talks during the pause in fighting, he declared that “negotiations will take place under fire.”

“We resumed fighting with full force following the advice of security officials,” Netanyahu said.

The Tikva Forum greeted the news of renewed strikes in Gaza and said they approved of the government’s action.

“The past weeks have proven what we have been saying all along – Hamas will never return all the hostages willingly,” the Forum declared in a statement titled “All or Hell.”

“Only massive military pressure, a complete blockade including cutting off electricity and water, and occupation of territories that will lead to Hamas’s collapse, will cause them to beg for a ceasefire and a deal that will return ALL the hostages together, in one stage.”

The group argued that, should strikes continue “with intensity and without interruption,” all hostages would return home “in one bus.”

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Father of hostage still held in Gaza blasts mother of Edan Alexander for thanking US and hostage activist group while apparently snubbing Israeli leaders.

By World Israel News Staff

Yael Alexander, the mother of recently released ex-Gaza hostage Edan Alexander, came under fire on Tuesday after she declined to thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following her son’s return to Israel.

On Monday, Hamas freed the 23-year-old dual Israeli-U.S. citizen without any conditions, apparently as a goodwill gesture to the U.S. and in response to pressure from the Qatari government.

The Israeli government claimed the release was the result of pressure by the IDF on Hamas, including plans by Israel to seize and retain control of the entire Gaza Strip.

“This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination,” Netanyahu said.

On Tuesday, Yael Alexander made a public statement from her son’s hospital room in Tel Aviv, crediting the Trump administration for Edan’s release.

“I say that the return of Edan should be only the beginning of bringing back the rest of the hostages,” said Yael Alexander. “We have no time to wait. Time is running out, and the world is watching us.

“President Trump, Steve Witfkoff, and Adam Boehler worked day and night to bring back my son.”

She also thanked the Hostages and Missing Families Forum – an activist group representing many of the hostages’ families, which has organized protests calling for a cessation of the Gaza war in exchange for the release of the remaining captives – and supporters across Israel.

“Most of the public believes that bringing back the hostages is the most important goal, a national and Jewish goal,” Mrs. Alexander said. “It’s not about the political right or left, but about the human heart.”

However, Mrs. Alexander did not mention Netanyahu or the Israeli government in her comments, sparking criticism on social media and from the family of another hostage still in captivity.

“I read your words with great sorrow,” tweeted Tzvi Mor, the father of Eitan Mor, 24, who was taken hostage at the Nova music festival on October 7th while working as a security guard.

Tzvi is a member of the Tikva Forum, a more hawkish alternative to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“You thank the Americans, the Hostage Headquarters, the soldiers and commanders — but not the Government of Israel, thanks to which 196 hostages have been released so far. Even Witkoff attested that dear Edan was freed yesterday through the efforts of the prime minister.

“It seems that the criticism of the government and the ingratitude voiced by some returnees have not skipped over you either. Was someone briefing you here?

“One more thing: I wish you all the best in the U.S. But please, leave it to us — those who remain in the country and continue building the Zionist project — to determine our own priorities.

“And finally, you have no right to question our right to fight here for our future and for the remaining hostages who will not return without continued pressure on Hamas,” Mor concluded.

Former Jewish Home MK and conservative “The Patriots” show commentator Yinon Magal also accused Mrs. Alexander of “ingratitude,” while blaming the Israeli left for the “toxic” political climate dividing the country.

“Edan Alexander’s mother, in a repulsive display of ingratitude and lack of decency, does not thank the Prime Minister,” Magal tweeted. “Only in the toxic and deranged climate created here by the left and the media could something like this happen.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum slammed Magal’s comments in a post to X later on Tuesday night.

The group “wishes to embrace and support Edan and the Alexander family, who — after all they have been through — now find themselves this evening under a vicious attack, ironically from fellow Israelis on a program calling itself ‘The Patriots’.

“As Yael Alexander said tonight: ‘We choose unity, love of humanity, and commitment to the values we were raised on.’ Time is running out, the world is watching, and history will remember.”

The post Mother of freed hostage under fire for thanking Trump but not Netanyahu appeared first on World Israel News.

Hamas rejected the latest version of the hostage deal, saying it refuses to release additional hostages until Israel agrees to ending the war and withdrawing from Gaza.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sparked controversy in an interview in which he said that bringing home the remaining hostages is “not the most important goal” of the government.

Speaking on Radio Galey Israel, Smotrich said, “While bringing the hostages home is incredibly important, we must be honest and say it’s not the top priority. If the goal is to eliminate Hamas to ensure there’s never another October 7, then Hamas cannot be allowed to continue operating in Gaza.”

The remarks were greeted with outrage from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which said in a statement that “at the very least, the minister is being honest with the public—the government has made a conscious decision to abandon the hostages. Smotrich, history will not forget how you hardened your heart toward your fellow citizens held in captivity and chose to leave them behind.”

Hamas recently rejected a proposal that would call for the release of 10 living hostages in exchange for a 45-day ceasefire. The terror group declared that it would not release additional hostages until Israel committed to ending the war and withdrawing all of its troops from Gaza.

Following Hamas’ rejection of the latest version of a hostage release deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “I will not give in to the murderers who carried out the worst massacre since the Holocaust,” referring to the invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, when the terror group murdered 1,200 peopleand took 250 hostages.

“Surrender would put the public at risk. If we meet their demands, everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve would be undone,” Netanyahu said.

“If we agree to stop fighting, we won’t be able to resume the operation in Gaza. These agreements call for a full IDF withdrawal. Were our soldiers injured and killed for nothing? Hamas wants firm guarantees that the fighting won’t continue. They know exactly what they’re doing. I’m fully committed to bringing our hostages home but not by surrendering to Hamas’ terms,” he said.

The post Israeli minister says freeing hostages is ‘not the most important’ goal appeared first on World Israel News.

The Israel Defense Forces warned of a “massive offensive” against Hamas and instructed Palestinians living at the edges of the Gaza Strip to relocate.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Families of hostages held in Gaza were split on Tuesday following Israel’s renewed airstrikes in the coastal enclave, with some condemning the attacks while others expressed support for intensified action against Hamas. The fighting ends a two-month ceasefire.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a strongly worded statement criticizing the Israeli government’s decision to resume fighting.

“The claim that the war is being renewed for the release of the hostages is a complete deception – military pressure endangers the hostages and soldiers,” the forum said. “We must return to the ceasefire.”

Addressing Israeli leaders, the group accused the government of walking away from negotiations that could have secured the hostages’ release. “Why aren’t you fighting in the negotiating room? Why did you pull out of the deal that could have brought everyone home?” the statement asked.

The group also called on U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene, urging him “to release all the hostages.”

“The greatest fear of the families, the hostages, and the citizens of Israel has come true – the Israeli government has chosen to give up on the hostages,” the forum stated.

Meanwhile, the Tikva Forum backed the renewed military campaign as a necessary step to force Hamas into a deal.

“The past few weeks have proven what we have been saying all along – Hamas will never return all the abductees voluntarily,” the Forum said.

“Only massive military pressure, a complete siege that includes a power and water cut, and the occupation of territories that will lead to the collapse of Hamas, will lead it to beg for a ceasefire and a deal that will return all the abductees together, in one fell swoop.”

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces warned of a “massive offensive” against Hamas and instructed Palestinians living at the edges of the Gaza Strip to relocate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the renewed fighting “follows Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators.”

Hamas insisted on the original ceasefire terms, which called for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining hostages.

However, Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue operations until Hamas is dismantled. Talks over phase two of the agreement, set to begin February 3, never took place.

Despite this, the ceasefire held for weeks as mediators sought new terms. Last week, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff proposed extending phase one of the ceasefire in exchange for the release of five hostages.

However, Witkoff dismissed Hamas’s response to the proposal as unacceptable, warning of consequences if the group did not reconsider.

At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead.

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Israelis are “following Sinwar’s instructions” by protesting, fumes brother of kidnapped man.

By World Israel News Staff

Families of civilians and soldiers held captive by Hamas terrorists for almost one year are slamming the ongoing hostage release protests, which have joined forces with the anti-government Kaplan Movement, stating that the demonstrations are actually decreasing the chances that their loved ones will be freed.

The Forum for Hostage Families has claimed to be a non-partisan organization advocating on behalf of all those whose loved ones were kidnapped, but some families have said that the group promotes a political agenda.

Those who are in favor of military pressure as the most effective tactic for freeing the hostages established the Tikva Forum. Its members do not support the weekly Tel Aviv rallies calling for a ceasefire, where speakers often include anti-Netanyahu rhetoric in their speeches.

Nadav Miran, whose brother Omri was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7th, said that many of the hostage families had unwittingly become pawns of Hamas due to their vocal criticism of the Israeli government and participation in protests calling for a hostage deal at any cost.

“The content of the [hostage deal rallies] is now focused on toppling the government,” Miran, a member of the Tikva Forum, told Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.

“We hear [Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar forcing the hostages to demand street protests calling for their release” in psychological warfare videos, Miran said.

“And what do Israeli citizens do? They follow Sinwar’s instructions” by protesting, he added.

Miran stressed that growing public pressure for a deal only makes Hamas sharpen its demands, putting the terror group in a stronger position at the negotiating table.

“Those who go to the protests are preventing a deal and killing the captives,” he said. “Because of the demonstrations, the price [Hamas is demanding] for the hostages is increasing.”

He added that it bothers him to see photos of his brother being held by the protesters.

“My brother is being used to protect their agenda. They are standing against the truth. The only one blocking a deal is Hamas, and even the Americans are saying that.”

Miran’s views were backed by Shimon Or, whose nephew, Avinatan, was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival alongside his girlfriend, Noa Argamani.

Demonstrators using Avinatan’s photo at protests “don’t actually care about him or the other captives,” Or told Ynet.

“They have their own goals – primarily overthrowing the prime minister.”

The post Hostage families: ‘Protests are killing our loved ones’ appeared first on World Israel News.

The brief run came after the relatives used loudspeakers to call out messages of love and support for the abductees, and for the government to agree to a deal to release them.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Families of hostages being held by Hamas ran through a gate in the fence around the demilitarized strip bordering Gaza and ran towards the border for several minutes Wednesday before turning back.

In clips uploaded to social media, a few dozen men and women can be seen dashing along a dirt road next to a fence topped with barbed wire, holding pictures of their loved ones and shouting, “[Bring] all of them [home] now!”

One woman can be heard screaming, “Enough!” and another calling out, “Liri, I’m coming!”

Liri Albag was one of five female soldiers kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base during Hamas’ October 7th invasion, whose job was to observe the goings-on over the Gazan border.

She is still in captivity, held along with 106 other Israelis and foreign nationals by Hamas and other terrorists groups in the coastal enclave.

The runners then turn right through an open gate, going towards the actual border before listening to soldiers begging them to go back.

In describing the incident, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said that the families “had been shouting through loudspeakers for their loved ones who have been dying in the Hamas tunnels for 328 days. The families, in great pain, broke through the Gaza fence and ran towards the Gaza Strip – crying out to get as close to their loved ones as possible.”

The headquarters also stated, “The families are crying out to close the deal that will bring back their loved ones – the living for rehabilitation and the martyrs and the murdered for burial in their country.”

The families had left Tel Aviv Wednesday evening in a long line of cars and arrived around 10:00 a.m. Thursday with the loudspeakers in the hope of sending powerful messages of hope to their loved ones, as well as one to the government, to agree to all of Hamas’ demands in order to free them, which is the Forum’s guiding principle.

American-Israeli Jon Polin, whose son Hersh was shown alive in a Hamas propaganda video in April, called out, “Hersh, it’s dad. We need you to know that not only the families are here today, and not only the nine million people in this country, but the whole world. We won’t stop until all of you get back home soon.”

Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of lone soldier Edan Alexander, who came to serve in the IDF from New Jersey, cried into the microphone, “It’s grandma and grandpa, you are our soul, do you hear us? …. Be strong, you’re strong, survive, we’re doing everything we can for you and for all the other hostages.”

Many begged the hostages not to give up, saying that they were badly missed and tremendously loved, and promising that they would never give up on them.

Some hostages’ families, who believe that capitulating to Hamas would seriously damage Israel’s long-term interests and back the view that the terror organization must be dismantled no matter the private price they may pay, have formed their own group called the Tikva Forum to push for overwhelming military pressure on Hamas to get their loved ones released.

The post Screaming towards captive relatives, hostage families rush Gaza border during protest march appeared first on World Israel News.

“How can the government give them back without receiving anything in return?” they ask.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Families of hostages held by Hamas are furious over an announcement Monday by the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry that Israel had returned dozens of bodies of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip.

“We are livid about the return of 80 bodies of Gazans for burial in the Gaza Strip. How is it possible that the State of Israel, under the leadership of Netanyahu, is returning bodies that are not part of a deal? The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

“What about our family members, how long will they be held captive by Hamas in Gaza?”

They accused the prime minister of delaying the negotiations over an agreement with the Gazan terrorist organization that has been on the table in a few formats for over two months, but “specifically revealing great determination and efficiency in returning Gazan bodies to their families” while they wait, “on the verge of despair,” for their loved ones.

The angry relatives also reminded Netanyahu of an equation he made famous decades ago regarding negotiations with the Palestinians, which in reality has almost never been kept by any Israeli government.

“Where is the prime minister who coined the famous equation of ‘If they give, they’ll receive, if they won’t give – they won’t receive’? Where is that equation when it comes to our abductees?” they protested.

The group demanded answers from both the prime minister and his coordinator in charge of the return of POWs and missing people, Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch.

Reuters reported that the Hamas government said that Israel had handed over 89 bodies as “bones and decomposed bodies in an inhumane manner.”

Yamen Abu Suleiman, director of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service in Khan Younis, accused Israel of committing “a war crime” and “a crime against humanity” by returning the bodies “with no information about the names, or ages, or anything,” the news agency said.

They would try to determine their cause of death and identify them, Suleiman added, before burying them in a mass grave in Khan Younis.

The media in Gaza showed a clip of tractors digging in the sand near the Nasser Hospital in the city.

This is not the first time Israel has taken bodies out of Gaza and then returned them while receiving nothing in return.

While the IDF has not commented as yet on Monday’s return, it has in the past said that it exhumes bodies in Gaza to make sure they are not those of hostages that Hamas has buried, and then gives them back after running the relevant tests.

The post Hostages’ families furious as Israel returns over 80 bodies to Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.

The Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages slammed calls to join anti-government protests, arguing that politicizing the matter could backfire.

By Amelie Botbol, JNS

Some of the families of Israelis being held by Hamas in Gaza formally joined forces over the weekend with anti-government protesters to push for the ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The bottom line is that we are no longer playing mister nice guy,” said Yair Moses, whose parents were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7.

His mother, Margalit, 77, was freed in late November as part of a weeklong ceasefire agreement, while his father Gadi, 79, remains in Gaza.

On Saturday night, tens of thousands of demonstrators calling for early elections and the release of the hostages took to the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities across Israel.

Sixteen people were arrested for blocking roads and violating public order, according to police, who used water cannons to disperse demonstrators.

“It’s been nearly six months that this government is not doing enough to bring our loved ones back, six months that they’re failing,” Yair Moses told JNS.

“The prime minister needs to go now,” he continued. “We need someone else as the head of the government, someone who will put the release of hostages above his political survival.”

Protesters also clashed with police in Jerusalem, where some 200 people broke through barriers near Netanyahu’s official residence, as well as in Caesarea where they blocked roads close to the premier’s private home.

The demonstrators chanted familiar slogans heard during the anti-judicial reform protests in the months preceding the Oct. 7 attack.

Eli Elbag, father of hostage Liri Elbag, 19, said on Saturday night that it was the last time a separate protest would be held at Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square,” previously the epicenter of the movement.

“This is the last Shabbat that we’ll be here,” said Elbag. “We won’t meet here anymore, we will be in the streets …, this is the moment where we turn off the lights.”

A giant screen in “Hostage Square” called on the families to join the larger anti-government protests elsewhere in Tel Aviv: “Come with us to Begin [Street] and Dizengoff Street to make our shouts heard. All of them, now!”

Moses explained that the group was not necessarily calling for early elections, making it unclear how he envisioned replacing the government.

“Personally, I don’t think elections are the answer, mostly because it will take a few months and there is no way to tell what the outcome will be,” he said.

“We need something to happen tomorrow, we’re running out of time. We need someone else to step up as the head of the Israeli political system now.”

The Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages sharply criticized the calls to join anti-government protests, arguing that politicizing the matter could backfire.

The group is an alternative to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the largest organization representing relatives of the captives.

In a statement issued Saturday evening, the group said that “a significant number of abductees’ families are shocked by the political activity.”

In addition, the Tikva Forum demanded that media outlets reporting on the matter note that “families of abductees” is not a uniform group.

“Political organizations making a lot of noise before October 7 and that were opposing the judicial reform and fighting against the government are now using a handful of hostage families for their own needs,” Shimon Or, one of some three dozen families from the Tikvah Forum, told JNS.

Or’s nephew Avinatan Or, 30, was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival along with his girlfriend, 26-year-old Noa Argamani.

“Today, I saw them [the anti-government protesters] hold a picture of Avinatan even though our family does not even remotely agree with their goal of ousting the government,” Or continued. “In fact, we believe that it will prevent the return of the hostages and will strengthen Hamas. Still, they use Avinatan’s posters for their own purposes.

“Political groups use them as tools to make the Israeli people think that this is what we all want, but it’s not,” he said.

Or noted that truce talks are set to resume in Cairo on Sunday, after the negotiations in Doha collapsed last week given Hamas’s decision to stick to demands for a “permanent ceasefire.”

“Hamas is asking to resume control over the Strip, we cannot agree to that,” Or told JNS.

He believes the best route to the safe return of all the hostages is to intensify ground operations in Gaza with an offensive in the city of Rafah, Hamas’s last major stronghold.

“We need to enter Rafah, we need to have a military and civilian [administrative] presence in Gaza. Once we are in control of the Strip, Hamas will not be able to keep the hostages away from us,” he said.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu said that Israel Defense Forces troops would enter Rafah with or without support from the United States, which is opposed to a large-scale ground operation in the city.

The premier was set to meet on Sunday with the families of hostages, including the mother of Na’ama Levy, who revealed that a few weeks ago she had received a sign of life from her daughter, but failed to elaborate.

“Hostages are held in civilian houses, bodies are dispersed all over Gaza. Once we are in control of the Strip, we will be able to get information from the residents on where both the captives and the remains of the victims are,” said Or.

“This waiting period [ahead of the operation] is giving political groups an opportunity to be center stage again and get the attention that they want. They don’t care about the kidnapped, they just want to oust the government,” Or said.

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