There are the peaceful faces from photos taken in happier times. At the corner of a street, on a gate and along the corridors of Ben-Gurion airport, portraits of Israeli hostages who are still being held in Gaza smile at passers-by. There are now fewer photos than before, some have become a little weather-worn, but they are still visible, as if their absence had finally become part of the Israeli landscape.

In severe contrast, there are the defeated faces and drawn features of their loved ones, increasingly ravaged by expectation, grief and fatigue. Four months after 250 people were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the families of 132 of them are still uncertain about the fate of their child, brother, sister or parent, of whom they still have no news.

Around a hundred prisoners were returned at the end of November, released as part of a truce negotiated with the Islamist organization. More recently, two men were found by the Israeli army in a building in the Palestinian enclave on February 12.

But of those who did not return, the families know nothing. Are they alive? Wounded? Ill? Or already dead? At least 32 of them fall into the latter category, according to Israeli officials in early February. The big question, though, is what should be done now? It is the question that is dividing Israel and even the families themselves, who are not all on the same wavelength as to the strategy to be implemented.

Although small in size, the parallel demonstrations that form some evenings in front of the Kirya, the military command headquarters in Tel Aviv, offers a striking illustration of this split. Scattered along Menachem Begin Avenue, a small crowd holds placards bearing a single demand, in large letters: "An agreement for the hostages now."

In their eyes, the war cabinet must speed up talks with Hamas, even if it means interrupting the fighting: the return of the kidnapped people is an absolute priority. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, speaks of this cause as a "sacred mission," but considers the conditions set by the Islamist organization to be "crazy," particularly the one concerning the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. For Netanyahu, the two releases at the beginning of the week prove that it is necessary to maintain both "strong military pressure" and "tough negotiations."

Not a glance, not a word is exchanged between this first group and the one standing just a few yards away on the sidewalk along the avenue. This second group holds up a sign showing a young couple, shoulder to shoulder. Her name is Noa Argamani and he is Avinatan Or, aged 25 and 31, who were kidnapped on the morning of October 7 while attending the music festival in the Negev desert. "Let's not separate them a second time, let's bring them back together," says the sign. The message seems unifying, but Noa's family isn't present, and for good reason: They don't share Avinatan's opinions, nor do the participants in the opposing group.

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