In a poignant display of desperation and grief, relatives of 107 hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza staged a protest near the Gaza border, demanding their immediate return. The protest, which took place on Thursday, saw a group of around two dozen family members, wearing t-shirts emblazoned with bloody handprints and carrying signs bearing images of their loved ones, march towards the Gaza border barrier.
The group, visibly distraught and filled with anguish, began by shouting messages of love and support through a stack of loudspeakers pointed towards the Gaza frontier. “Hersh, it’s dada,” yelled Jon Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage from a music festival. “What you need to know, and all 107 of you need to know, is not only are the families here today and 9 million people of this country, but people all over the world are fighting for you,” he said. His mother, Rachel Goldberg, raised her hand to the sky as she spoke into the microphone: “We love you. Stay strong. Survive.”
The protest signs, many reading “Their blood is on the hands of the government,” poignantly expressed the families’ frustration and sense of betrayal. They were demanding action, urging the Israeli government to prioritize the hostages’ release.
Nirim, the kibbutz where the protest took place, was one of several Israeli communities targeted in a cross-border rampage by Hamas on October 7th, an attack that sparked the current war in Gaza. During the initial onslaught, Hamas-led gunmen killed approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and abducted around 250 hostages.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Israel has launched a devastating military campaign against Gaza, displacing nearly all of its inhabitants and resulting in the deaths of at least 40,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel claims to have killed approximately 17,000 militants.
Despite international efforts to broker a ceasefire and secure the release of the hostages, the conflict continues. The families’ desperate plea for their loved ones’ return reflects the human cost of this brutal war.
At one point during the protest, a few dozen protesters broke off and rushed towards the Gaza border, fueled by the overwhelming desire to reach their loved ones. “We are coming to get them back to Israel where they belong, where they are supposed to be,” said Eyal Kalderon, his breath short from the dash, whose cousin Ofer is a hostage. They were stopped by Israeli police, who warned that their presence in the open field made them vulnerable targets for Palestinian militants.
“We were trying to get into Gaza to get the hostages back. Our family members. Our military stopped us, they are trying to defend and protect us. But the hostages aren’t protected there,” said Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat is also in captivity. “We have to sign a deal now and get all the hostages back. And we’re calling our prime minister – if you can’t do this, we’ll get inside and we’ll bring them back ourselves. Bring them home now.”
The families’ desperate pleas highlight the urgency of the situation. The international community and the Israeli government are under immense pressure to secure the release of the hostages and bring an end to this devastating war.
