Families of hostages called for the return of their loved ones held in Gaza captivity as the country marked 500 days since the October 7 massacre on Monday.
At 7 a.m., families of the hostages began marching towards the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Levi Ben Baruch, uncle of hostage Edan Alexander, 21, who is currently held in captivity, led a prayer for the return of the hostages in front of the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem.
"500 days that our brothers and sisters have been held captive by Hamas. We begin the morning with a cry and plead to the Creator of the World to redeem them from their suffering. Shema Yisrael, we hear the harrowing testimonies, and our hearts are torn apart," he said, according to N12.
"They are bound, tied, and starved. We demand that they all be brought home, down to the very last hostage," he added.
Macabit Mayer, aunt of hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, who were kidnapped from Kfar Aza on October 7, said, "Day 500 is no different from all the days we’ve endured so far – we continue to wait for this nightmare to end. We, too, want to begin our journey of healing, and my sister also deserves to hug her sons again."
'No time for delay'
Hannah Cohen, the aunt of hostage Inbar Haiman, who was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival, said, "It has already been 500 days since four women, two children, men, soldiers, and young men have been held captive by Hamas. After 500 days, it is time to end the suffering they and we are enduring."
Esther Buchshtab, mother of Yagev Buchshtab, who was killed in Hamas captivity, added, "We, the families, are here to remind everyone that there is no time for delay."
At 11:40 a.m., the families are set to begin a fast, which will last 500 minutes until 8 p.m.