While the Israeli army subjects the Gaza Strip to strikes of unprecedented violence since the start of the war, for the Israeli families of 230 Hamas hostages, these are sleepless nights. They spent Saturday October 28 demonstrating in Tel Aviv, demanding answers from their government.
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With our correspondent in Tel Aviv, Sharon Aronowicz
“ Take them home! “. The screams of demonstrators lasted for hours on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv. “ Tal is the father of Yaël, she is three years old, and Nave, 8 years old. We don’t know anything about them, only that they have been missing for 22 days now. We are worried and scared and we want them to come home. », worried this other demonstrator, who saw her cousin kidnapped in Gaza with her two children.
The families of the hostages are in complete limbo regarding their loved ones. They denounce the silence of the Israeli government.
“ We expect from the Minister of Defense a clear plan on how he will save all the kidnapped and missing people, we expect him to explain how the operation in Gaza does not endanger the hostages. “, declared Haim Rubinstein, the spokesperson for the families of the hostages.
“ Consider the safety of our loved ones »
Meirav Leshem Gonen, whose son is held in Gaza, met with the Israeli Prime Minister. For the first time, and under pressure from demonstrators, the latter received several families of hostages. “ We demanded that no measures be taken that would endanger the fate of our family members. Any operation considered should take into account the safety of our loved ones. “, did he declare.
For its part, Hamas affirmed its readiness to “ immediately » release the hostages in exchange for the release of all Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. “ Let them take them! We don’t need them here. I want my family and all the hostages to come home! »
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the war will be “ long and difficult “. He declared this Saturday evening that the defeat of Hamas is a challenge “ existential » for Israel.
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