Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, captives’ relatives called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday to “atone” for his failure to return their loved ones from Gaza, as tens of thousands of Israelis rallied across the country for the release of the hostages and against the continued fighting in the Strip.

The High Holidays begin Monday night with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, falls on October 2.

At Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Hannah Cohen, aunt of slain captive Inbar Hayman — the last woman still held in captivity — addressed the premier, drawing jeers at the mention of his name.

“Benjamin Netanyahu, in what world are 48 hostages, citizens, alive and dead, abducted and not returned home for nearly two years?” she said, demanding the prime minister meet with the families and provide information on the conditions of their loved ones. “Is there any atonement for this? No!”

Alon Nimrodi, father of captive soldier Tamir Nimrodi, addressed the premier by his nickname, which also drew jeers: “Bibi Netanyahu, it’s time you grew a heart [and] had some regard for human life.

“We’re just about at the holidays… yet more holidays I can’t celebrate, can’t mark, can’t enjoy at the holiday table with my family without knowing what is going on with my son,” he said.

“Bibi, at the start of the new year — a new Jewish year — show us what Jewish values are. Bring back our sons and daughter,” he added. “Not with dangerous and pointless fighting but with an immediate, comprehensive deal. We can deal with the rest later.”

“Yom Kippur is coming,” he said to Netanyahu. “Atone for your sins [and] the sins of your militant and irresponsible government.”

Nimrodi, whose son is one of two captives whose lives Israeli officials have expressed grave concern for, added that many people, including hostage families, often refer to only 20 living hostages out of the remaining 48.

“There are 22 hostages still considered alive — 22,” he said. “That’s what appears in the list that has been given to the mediators. I saw it with my own eyes.”

In keeping with its custom in recent weeks, the Hostages Square rally also featured a speech from a reservist calling for the end of the war. The soldier, Shahar Varon, called on the government to leverage the army’s “impressive achievements” to reach a truce and hostage deal. Like other reservists who have spoken at the square, he stopped short of calling on soldiers to refuse to take part in the operation to take over Gaza City.

Also speaking at Hostages Square was Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, who accused the government of imposing a “death sentence” on soldiers and the remaining hostages with its decision to order the military conquest of Gaza City.

He assailed Netanyahu’s statement this week that Israel would have to develop an autarkic economy in response to the mounting international pressure amid the intense bombing of Gaza City in recent weeks.

“The government of Israel has chosen death for the umpteenth time,” said Cohen. “It has also chosen poverty, international isolation, boycotts and the shattering of Israel’s international relations.”

“Netanyahu has decided to deliver a death sentence,” said Cohen. He added that Israel’s security chiefs, who have reportedly warned strongly against the Gaza City operation and called for a deal, are not absolved of responsibility for the fate of the hostages and soldiers who may be endangered by the offensive.

“You won’t be able to say in the end that you were just following orders,” declared Cohen. “A day will come and those responsible will pay.”

Cohen said the hostages could have returned in a deal long ago.

“The moment Israel decides it wants a deal, there will be a deal,” he said. “Until then, they will continue to suffer.”

Cohen then addressed US President Donald Trump in English, “because no one is listening” in Israel. He said the families had been filled with hope when Trump took office in January.

Protestors at the rally unfurled a large sign that read: “President Trump, end the war, save them.”

“More than six months have passed. What now? Did you get bored?” he asked.

“Netanyahu is destroying your legacy, diminishing your achievements,” said Cohen, calling on Trump to “be remembered as the one president who wasn’t fooled and wasn’t manipulated by Benjamin Netanyahu.”

The Tel Aviv rally ended with a livestream from a separate protest by hostages’ families outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, with attendees at both gatherings singing Hatikva, the national anthem.

Speaking from Jerusalem, Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said “there is no place hot enough in hell” for the prime minister.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum set up a tent encampment outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday night after declaring a “state of emergency” over the IDF’s new offensive in Gaza City.

Relatives of hostages have expressed fear with increasing urgency that the operation to conquer Gaza City would endanger their loved ones. Hamas members have claimed the terror group is holding captives in different neighborhoods throughout the area.

Addressing thousands of demonstrators in the capital demanding a hostage-ceasefire deal, Zangauker recounted the past few days spent outside Netanyahu’s private residence.

She said she “shouted this week on Azza Street for a comprehensive deal and end to the war, but Netanyahu shuts his house windows,” she told the crowd.

“At the same time that I heard — and also felt — the explosions [from strikes] on my Matan this week, [Bezalel] Smotrich and [Itamar] Ben Gvir fantasized about building cities and real estate in Gaza!” she said, referring to the far-right government ministers. “My son… has become a victim of the Netanyahu government; he is sacrificing him to stay in power.”

Protesters gathered outside the premier’s official residence in Paris Square holding a giant banner that was visible from above, addressed to Trump, which read: “President Trump, be our savior!” alongside a yellow ribbon.

Anat Angrest, mother of captive soldier Matan Angrest, also addressed the crowd in Jerusalem, saying, “My son Matan was abandoned on Bibi’s watch, my son Matan fought and was severely wounded on Bibi’s watch. My son has been forced to survive almost two years of torture, starving in darkness because Bibi sabotages every chance to save him.”

“At this very moment my son is being bombed to death on Bibi’s orders. Let’s show him we don’t abandon wounded soldiers in the field,” she continued.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 48 hostages, including 47 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 26 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Among the bodies held by Hamas is an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.