A menorah that was made out of missile fragments by numerous terrorist organizations that fired on Israel was installed and displayed at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
"In each fragment - a story of survival. Pieces of Iranian ballistic missiles, fragments of UAVs from Yemen, and rockets from Lebanon have been transformed into a symbol of hope, light emerging from darkness," the menorah's inscription says.
The menorah was created by artist Eli Gross.
The Hostages Square also saw another protest by families of the remaining hostages in Gaza that night. A separate demonstration was also held in Haifa at the Carmel Center around the same time, and clashes with police were reported at a demonstration in Jerusalem's Paris Square.
The remaining hostages have been held captive in Gaza for 449 days as of Saturday.
The demonstration at Hostages' Square also saw candle lighting for the holiday's fourth night.
At the Tel Aviv protest, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held captive in Gaza, attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of sabotaging a hostage release deal.
"Today, on the fourth night of Hanukkah," she stated, "the negotiations for the deal are at a crucial point. A comprehensive deal can be reached, but Netanyahu refuses to end the war for criminal reasons. While he is telling everyone to be quiet, he is running to torpedo the deal in interviews and media briefings," she continued.
עינב צנגאוקר בהצהרת משפחות חטופים: "מי שמצהיר שאין בכוונתו לסיים את המלחמה – לא רוצה להחזיר את החטופים. מי ששוב מכניס תנאים חדשים רגע לפני סגירת עסקה – גוזר גזר דין מוות על החטופים. נתניהו ממציא כל פעם תירוץ חדש למנוע עסקה"@YoavBorowitz pic.twitter.com/PBw9eUFVlF
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 28, 2024
"He has no intention of ending the war, again introducing new conditions just before the deal is closed and introducing the spin of the hostage lists. Anyone who invents a new excuse to prevent a deal each time is passing a death sentence on the hostages.
"He is afraid of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and refuses to end the war, in complete contradiction to Israeli interests. Netanyahu and Israel Katz are sitting in heated rooms and bragging about continuing the war while Matan and the other hostages are freezing and rotting in tunnels. The blood is on your hands."
Yehuda Cohen, the father of kidnapped soldier Nimrod Cohen, addressed US President-elect Donald Trump, saying: "Netanyahu is trying to deceive you. Ending the war and returning all the hostages is in the interest of the State of Israel. You may be the last person who can put pressure on Netanyahu. Do not compromise on a partial deal that is just a death sentence for the remaining hostages and will not bring about an end to the war."
Democrats Party leader Yair Golan spoke at a demonstration on Kaplan Street the same night, stating, "This evil government abandons the kidnapped men and women to die in captivity in agony. This government sacrifices soldiers to die in Gaza. They don't want to end the war because they fantasize about annexation and settlements in Gaza."
Hostage Family Forum activities the day before
Demonstrations to raise awareness for a hostage release deal took place on Friday morning at Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev desert, where participants used their vehicles to create the hostages' ribbon symbol using 100 cars - one representing each hostage still held in captivity.
Participants also created an SOS message calling for the captives' release.