Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was shouted down as he addressed a special plenum session held at the Knesset on Monday in honor of the hostages still being held in Gaza and attended by the hostages’ families.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana opened the special session, which was also attended by most of the government ministers, with a speech.
“This special day marked here in the Knesset, dear families, tells you that you are not alone,” he said. “An entire people is following you with concern, an entire people is wishing and praying for the return of your loved ones, and every minister and MK standing here by my side sees the hostages’ faces.
“An entire people, MKs included, hope to see your sleep-deprived eyes fill with tears of joy,” he said. “An entire people wants to see its sons and daughters return home.”
Netanyahu got up next and began by talking about Noa Argamani, who is still being held hostage by Hamas.
He said he had invited the Chinese ambassador for a meeting in which he talked about Argamani (whose mother is Chinese and has cancer) and urged him to talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping about her, adding that he had also appealed to Russia and the Red Cross for assistance.
Urging the world to help
“We are sparing no effort in bringing all the hostages home,” he said. “Some of these efforts can be openly seen, whereas others are occurring behind the scenes.”
He went on to say that the hostages who have already been released could not have been brought home without the military pressure on Hamas, and that the rest of the hostages won’t be released without this either. To that end, he said that the IDF needed more time to keep fighting.
At this point, the hostages’ families shouted him down, calling for their loved ones to be released “now!”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke next, saying that while the two objectives of the war, crippling Hamas and returning the hostages, were equally as important, the hostages’ return was most pressing. This comment was met with applause from the hostages’ families.
He went on to repeat the message he has been saying since the beginning of the conflict: that the opposition would fully support the coalition’s choices for the benefit of the war, especially decisions that would lead to the release of the hostages.
“We cannot say we’re doing enough to bring the hostages home until they come home,” he said.
Lapid added that some of the released hostages talked about how they had listened to the radio in captivity, so he hoped that those still being held hostage were listening to the plenum session, and knew that a massive effort is being made to bring them home.
Minister Benny Gantz spoke as a representative of his National Unity Party. He echoed the sentiment that while taking down Hamas would take time, bringing the hostages home had to happen as soon as possible.
“Every MK is committed to bringing our sons and daughters back within our borders,” he said. “And while we sometimes argue about the means, there is no argument as to the ends.”
Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas spoke for his party, saying that he had called for the hostages to be released as early as October 8, the day after the massacre, and that he was repeating the call now.
He added that morally, every effort had to be made to release the hostages, even if it meant ending the war. Abbas added that in his opinion, the hostage deal was not a result of military pressure but because of hope from the other side that the ceasefire would continue.