The families of the hostages held in Gaza never expected to confront this symbolic marker: "half a year," "six months" or, as it was referred to on Sunday, April 7, "one hundred and eighty-four days." This duration marks the number of days that have elapsed since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, with its atrocities, the 1,200 dead and the more than two hundred hostages taken to Gaza. According to a series of releases in November, 129 people are still being held in the enclave, with 34 considered dead.
For this date, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons arranged to meet in front of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, on the western outskirts of Jerusalem. They aimed to signal their intention to change strategy to push the government to reach an agreement with Hamas and obtain the release of their loved ones. Six months ago, a "hostage square" was created in Tel Aviv, in front of the Museum of Art near the Kiryat headquarters building which houses the country's top military authorities. Now, the movement intends to intensify its action in Jerusalem, particularly in the area near Parliament.
On Sunday evening, the demonstrators came as families. Many parked their cars in the parking lot of the nearest shopping mall, Cinema City, with its kitsch decorations and fast-food outlets. They unfolded their Israeli flags, which had been neatly stored since the last protest, and held up signs featuring photos of their smiling, living relatives. Then, they assembled at dusk, close to the vacant Parliament building.
On the previous Tuesday, when the group of families decided to organize a four-day demonstration in front of the Knesset, protesters forced their way into the building, reaching the public gallery, where they smeared the protective glass with yellow paint. The yellow ribbons, a symbol calling for the release of the hostages visible throughout Israel since October 8, 2023, are starting to disappear.
In Jerusalem, on this "184th day in hell," as many are calling it, there were many demonstrators. In addition to relatives and families of hostages, there are sympathizers: people angry with the government or anxious to show their feelings. This is not a mass movement, but a slow evolutionary process that is pushing the demonstrators more and more toward challenging the power of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Organizers claim that 50,000 people gathered around Parliament. That figure was definitely exaggerated, but the crowd was certainly present, full of questions, doubt and anger. Tony Braun is a member of one of the families who have been protesting for six months to demand the release of one of their own, in this case, the father of his daughter-in-law, 64-year-old Keith Siegel. "After six months, we've reached such a level of exhaustion that we don't know what to do. Tonight, we have come here, in front of the Knesset, to bring our request to Parliament," explained Braun.
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