Thousands gathered at protests around the country on Tuesday for the third day in a row since the bodies of six hostages, recently murdered, had been retrieved from Gaza.
Earlier this week, the Hostage Family Forum and other organizations called on Israelis to take to the streets, leading to huge protests across the country on Sunday and Monday. Hundreds of thousands were in the streets Sunday in one of the largest protests Israel has seen in recent years. Protests did not lose momentum Monday, with many thousands back in the streets at locations around the country calling to bring the hostages home.
Protesters stressed that the six hostages – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino – were all alive a few days ago and could have been brought home alive in a deal.
Ben-Gurion Airport was closed Monday morning; healthcare providers, companies, and more participated in a countrywide strike for a deal after Arnon Bar-David and other business forum leaders threw their weight behind the Hostage Family Forum.
There were also protests on Monday against a hostage deal, as dozens of bereaved families joined by crowds of supporters called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to make a deal.
Hostage Family Forum
“We will continue to say out loud that the deal that is on the table endangers the lives of the hostages,” said the Tikva (Hope) Forum, which promotes more military pressure as the way to bring hostages back.
On Tuesday, The Hostage Family Forum announced several protests for the evening at a handful of locations. The forum also announced that prayers of penitence (selichot) and a discussion will take place in Hostage Square Tuesday night, and families of hostages and fallen soldiers will participate.
“Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu showed last night that he does not intend to bring the hostages home,” said the forum. “That is the real meaning of his words beyond the lies and spins we heard from him.”
“The fight to bring back the hostages will become more fierce and intense until the last hostage comes home – the living for rehabilitation and the dead for proper burial,” said the forum, calling on Israelis to take to the streets.