Amid the countdown to the annual Passover week, Israeli families flocked to hostage memorial centers, their spirits dampened by the ongoing crisis in Gaza. The festival, which celebrates Jewish freedom from slavery, has been overshadowed by the plight of 130 hostages still missing after Hamas raids on October 7.
A solemn gathering in Tel Aviv’s renamed Hostage Square brought families together, including four-year-old Zeev, who pointed at an image of a captured mother and child. “Daddy, I knew there were adults, but it says there are babies as well,” he exclaimed to his father, Roet. “I want them all to come home.”
Israeli officials uncovered a mass grave of nearly 300 people at a hospital in Khan Younis, adding to the anguish of hostage families. The burial area was created when Israeli forces laid siege to the facility last month.
“Zeev is extremely sensitive, and we’ve been careful about what we tell her,” said Roet, a soldier who served in the Israeli Defence Force during the recent conflict. “But it’s important for them to know the truth, and they’ve learned today that babies are being held in Gaza.”
Passover, a week-long celebration, begins with a ceremonial meal called a seder. This year, many Israeli families will leave chairs empty at the table to symbolize the captives remaining in Gaza.
Despite the uncertainty, hope remains among the hostage families. “We are here in solidarity, to hope, hope and hope again that they are released soon,” said music executive Yossi. “It is such a deep feeling, it’s hard to explain.”
The Gaza Strip, once a holiday destination for Israelis, is now regarded as a separate world. “There was a time when we could see that everybody could live together, but I do not see that now,” said Yossi. “All we can say is ‘quiet holidays’ – it is really tragic.”
Amidst the grief, the Palestinian civil defense reported recovering 283 bodies from a grave site at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, while the death toll in the Israeli reprisals for the October 7 attacks surpassed 34,000. Protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue, and red alert sirens blared across multiple areas of Israel, highlighting the ongoing tensions in the region.
