Since October, family members of the three hostages who were killed by Israeli forces inside Gaza have been speaking with Israeli TV and news websites regularly to express their sympathies and request the safe release of their loved ones.
“I work in PR and communications during the day. The father of Alon, Avi Shimriz, said earlier this week to Israel’s Channel 12 that he “let out my grief at night in my bed.”
“My spouse spends the majority of the day sitting and crying,” he continued.
Kibbutz Kfar Aza was home to the Shimriz family, from whom Alon was taken prisoner on October 7. Many of the kibbutzim around the Gaza perimeter had been supporters of coexistence with the Palestinians, a view that Shimriz had expressed.
We are a kibbutz that strives for peace. [That there is someone to speak with on the other side] is something I am positive of. “Not everyone’s Yahya Sinwar,” he remarked, alluding to the man believed to have been behind Hamas’s deadly attack two months prior.
With the breakdown of the first agreement with Hamas, which resulted in the release of over 100 prisoners, at the beginning of the month, pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to take further action to free the remaining hostages in Gaza has grown.
Families and Israeli society as a whole have been feeling that time is running out as more and more accounts of life in captivity have come to light.
In recent days, that sentiment has only intensified. Israeli officials had already announced this week the deaths of five other Israelis held inside Gaza after their bodies were recovered by soldiers, even before news broke that three hostages had been inadvertently killed by Israeli troops.
“On the one hand, I’m grateful that every hostage returned alive.” However, I’m furious with our government’s decision-makers. According to Avi Shimriz, they ought to have freed everyone by now, Channel 12 reported.
“There is nobody in our government that I trust.” Who’s sitting in a tunnel, their son? Sitting in a tunnel is my son. There is no oxygen in my son. Every day, my son consumes half of a pita. As soon as tomorrow, I want my son to be here.
Several members of the hostage family have participated in protests to ensure that the government receives the message, but Yonatan, Alon’s brother, has voiced doubt on social media about the effectiveness of the widespread protests.
It’s like speaking to a wall here in Israel. You can organise protests, hold hands, light candles, create signs, and so on, but all of that will only serve to give the impression that the situation is beyond their control, the author wrote.
On October 7, Yotam Haim was also removed from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Earlier this week, Iris, his mother, told Israel’s Channel 11 that she had faith her son would return, even if she chose not to confront the government.
Some believe that no one will be able to retrieve their children if they don’t yell. I tell them that we can have a courteous conversation and handle it peacefully. I’m confident that the kids will return.
She had stated to Channel 11 that she thought the army and the government were doing their best.
“We can see that soldiers are dying while attempting to rescue my son. How can I keep saying, ‘Do something,'” I ask you.
Samer Talalka, the third of the three men who had been kidnapped and killed, was a Bedouin in Israel. Earlier this month, Fouad, his father, traveled to the United States to bring attention to his son’s predicament.
During his US visit, he spoke with the Israeli news website Ynet about his frustrations and desperation at not knowing anything.
Bring our children back! For what duration is this acceptable? After two months. Our families are idling around. We don’t know anything,” he said.
He had detailed the agony of witnessing the first hostage negotiation, which did not result in the release of any Israeli men, who fell apart as the father of a son who was being held captive.
Because of the truce, we had hope last week. We waited to find out if we would be the next lucky group to be freed after they promised to free the women and children. Furthermore, we had no luck.”The war has resumed and the high hopes are now on the floor,” he said
