Relatives of Israeli victims of the Hamas attack on Israel — and hostages still held in Gaza — were in Ottawa on Monday to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Still without news of their loved ones taken hostage, they call on Canada to intensify pressure for their release, three weeks after the start of the conflict.
Five relatives took turns presenting photos of their family members and sharing their stories, including the last moments they were able to be in contact.
“We don’t know what conditions they are in. We don’t even know if they are alive,” lamented Itay Raviv. His uncle and aunt, Avraham and Rute Munder, both 78, were kidnapped by Hamas along with their daughter, Keren, 54, and son, Ohad, 9.
Chen Zeigen, whose 74-year-old mother was kidnapped by Hamas, has also not heard from her for weeks. “The authorities have not shared any further information except that my mother’s phone was geolocated to Gaza,” he said at the press conference.
From the first days of the conflict, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for the release of “all hostages” held by Hamas. But for Aharon Brodutch, whose sister-in-law and three young children are missing in Gaza, more efforts must be made to free the hostages.
“It is very clear that international pressure is necessary to accelerate [le processus]. We have seen hostage situations in the past, but nothing like this,” he told reporters.
“The international pressure is simply not enough, because they are still [détenus en otage], added Itay Raviv. Canada hasn’t done enough, but neither has the rest of the world. »
Land invasion
As the conflict continues to escalate and the Israeli army relentlessly bombards the Gaza Strip, the families of the hostages say they are worried about the potential repercussions.
“I don’t know if continuing the ground invasion is the right path. I’m not a military strategist […] I can only hope that [la libération des otages] is the main motivation behind all the decisions that are made,” replied Mr. Brodutch.
Last week, the Canadian government said it was in favor of a “humanitarian pause” to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and Canadians to be able to leave. The Prime Minister still rejects the idea of calling for a ceasefire.
When asked if the Canadian government’s request for a humanitarian pause could interfere with the release of the hostages, Harel Lapidot, the uncle of a 23-year-old Israeli woman killed at the start of the conflict, simply declared these hostages “should not be linked to the war”.
“Holding hostages, holding babies, this is unacceptable. This should not be part of negotiations, they should simply be released immediately. This is the message that Canada and the whole world must send,” he declared firmly.
Mr. Lapidot also described the last moments of his niece, who was one of the first Canadian nationals to go missing. “Tiferet was hunted like an animal. It took more than 11 days to identify his body,” he testified.
Israel also announced Monday the death of a German-Israeli woman, Shani Louk, who was kidnapped by Hamas while participating in a music festival. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ruled out any ceasefire in the war, which he said would be “a surrender to Hamas”.
Hamas currently holds 239 hostages. Four women have been released to date. Hamas’ military wing “estimated” that “nearly 50” hostages were killed by Israeli strikes.