Hostages’ family members announced on Tuesday the launch of a funding campaign to enable them to fly to the US at the same time as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of hostage Yoram Metzger, said in a video, “Representatives of the Begin Group are going to the US this coming Saturday. We will not let Netanyahu set his false narrative in the international media. We must make our voice heard, be a counter there against him, and remind him that there is a need to sign a deal, stop the war, and return the hostages home.”In an additional video, Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, stated, “We in the Begin group want to go on a delegation to the US to call for a deal now, to call on Netanyahu to sign a deal now.”
Danny Elgarat, whose brother Itzhak is held in Gaza captivity, said in a separate video, “We are readying for the prime minister’s visit to the US and urgently need your donations so that we will be able to carry out this visit. We ask that each person donates however much they are able so that our decisive and unequivocal voice will reach Congress, and we will be able to implement the deal and the return of the hostages home in the end.”Protests to be held across the country
The call against Netanyahu’s trip to Congress comes amid further demonstrations calling for the return of the hostages. Last week, mothers of hostages called on the Knesset to cancel its planned recess as long as the hostages are still being detained in Gaza, organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The Women’s Protest for the Return of The Hostages said at the time, “While 120 members of the Knesset will go on vacation in a week, there are 120 hostages in Hamas captivity who have been yearning to be free for more than nine months."There is a deal on the table, and we demand from the government and its leader not to torpedo the opportunity to bring them home again.“This is not your time to rest and certainly not to go on vacation. It’s your time to do everything to make sure 120 hostages go free in the deal – now,” the statement added.
Eve Young contributed to this report.