Arriving in Jerusalem, hostage families want “answers”

(Jerusalem) “We cannot lose any more”: arriving in Jerusalem on foot on Saturday, the families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip demanded “answers” ​​from the Israeli government, under pressure after the announcement of the death of two captives in recent days.

According to the Israeli army, some 240 people were kidnapped on October 7 in an unprecedented deadly attack carried out on Israeli soil by the Palestinian movement Hamas from the Gaza Strip, and their families have been fighting to free them ever since.

A sea of ​​Israeli flags and portraits of hostages invaded the highway leading to Jerusalem: several thousand people traveled together on the last stage of the journey, which began Tuesday in Tel Aviv, some 60 km away. .

Printed on black T-shirts or signs, it is impossible to escape the faces of the hostages. “Mom, we are waiting for you. Come back,” we can read next to the photo of a smiling woman.

At the head of the procession, the families have somber faces, some wiping away a tear, others stopping for a hug.

Rallying to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the demonstrators launched hundreds of yellow balloons into the sky.

“Take them home now. All. Now,” proclaimed the demonstrators, repeating a slogan hammered out for six weeks.

“We want answers,” said Ari Levi, 68, whose cousin Ohad Yahalomi, 49, and his son, Eitan, 12, were among the hostages.

“It’s not normal for children to be kidnapped for 43 days. We do not know what the government is doing, we have no information,” he assures AFP, repeating a grievance expressed by many relatives.

“When Eitan comes back, I will buy him the best bike in the world,” he said before bursting into tears.

At the start of the evening, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons announced that “all the families” had obtained a meeting on Monday evening with “the entire war cabinet”, including Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

” In the eyes ”

At the call of this organization, established to provide logistical assistance to the relatives of the hostages, a new demonstration took place on Saturday evening, like every week, in a square in Tel Aviv which had become their rallying point.

On Thursday, the Israeli army announced that it had discovered the body of a hostage, Yehudit Weiss, near al-Chifa hospital in Gaza City. This 65-year-old woman was “assassinated by terrorists in the Gaza Strip”, according to the army.

And on Friday, the army said it had found the remains of Noa Marciano, a 19-year-old soldier, while searching a building adjacent to the same hospital. The Islamist movement claimed Monday that she had been killed in Israeli bombings.

“We can’t lose any more,” said Yuval Haran, who initiated the march and whose mother was kidnapped along with six other members of his family.

“We do not have the luxury of waiting,” he insists, asking the government to look families “in the eyes”.

Several sources have reported over the past week about mediation, under the aegis of Qatar, to try to free hostages in exchange for a truce in the war.

Saturday evening, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of “many unfounded rumors” and “manipulations”.

“So far there has been no agreement, but […] When we have something to say, we will let you know,” he promised.

In retaliation for the attack of October 7, which left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Israeli authorities, Israel is shelling the Gaza Strip, in the hands of Hamas, to “annihilate” the Islamist movement.

According to the latest report from the Hamas government, 12,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombings since the start of the war, including 5,000 children and 3,300 women.

“Perhaps military pressure will convince Hamas to release (the hostages),” hopes Orit Parnafes.

“But it’s very, very complicated,” admits this 54-year-old woman.

The Israeli government has so far rejected any call for a ceasefire in the conflict between Hamas, classified as terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union.