A markedly tense meeting was held Tuesday between a group of recently released hostages, as well as family members of those still held in Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the other members of the war cabinet.
Those who were present at the gathering in Herzliya told media outlets afterward that voices were raised and that Netanyahu did not engage directly with any of their demands, largely reading remarks off of a piece of paper, angering those present.
According to several Hebrew media reports, Netanyahu told the families “there is no possibility right now to bring everyone home. Can anyone really imagine that if that was an option, anyone would refuse it?” — a statement met with outrage from many. Some even said they got up and left the meeting midway through.
The Kan public broadcaster reported that Netanyahu also told those gathered: “Hamas has demands that even you would not accept.”
Under a weeklong truce deal that expired on Friday, 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza: 81 Israelis, 23 Thai nationals and one Filipino. Earlier, four hostages were released and one was rescued, and at least three bodies have been recovered. It is believed that 136 hostages remain in Gaza, including around 20 women.
Reuven Yablonka, the father of hostage Hanan Yablonka, told Maariv that “there was chaos and yelling. They shouted that they want all the hostages to come home. The female [freed] captives talked about unpleasant things that happened to them, one of them was completely exhausted.”
Simcha Goldin, the father of Hadar Goldin, a fallen IDF soldier whose body has been held by Hamas since 2014, was said to have shouted at the ministers: “How many more Hadar Goldins and Ron Arads will there be?!” — a reference to his son and to another IDF soldier who has been considered MIA since 1986 in Lebanon.
Aviva Siegel, who was freed from Hamas captivity last week and whose husband Keith, a US citizen, is still a hostage, said during the meeting that “airstrikes exploded above us and the Hamas operatives just kept sleeping. Your airstrikes don’t bother them.” Reports also quoted her as saying that women hostages are “being touched.”
Channel 12 quoted Siegel telling Netanyahu that her husband Keith “is not well, they broke his ribs and he can barely sit or eat. I didn’t sleep, I didn’t eat there because I couldn’t. We kept moving from place to place. I thought I would be blown up every second.”
According to Ynet, the freed hostages who attended the meeting also included Raz Ben Ami, whose husband Ohad is still held captive; Sharon Cunio, whose husband David and other family members are also still hostages; Yarden Roman-Gat, whose sister-in-law Carmel Gat is held in Gaza; and Irena Tati and her daughter Yelena Trufanov, whose son Sasha is still a hostage.
Ronen Tzur, the director of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, said after the gathering that “this was an unusual meeting. Members of the cabinet heard for the first time from freed female hostages describing the difficult things that are going on in the tunnels, including sexual abuse, and the fact that the airstrikes are happening very close to where the captives are being held.”
Cunio told the war cabinet ministers, in quotes provided by Channel 12, that she felt “that you have no idea what’s even going on there at all. You claim that you have intelligence but the fact is we were bombed. My husband was separated from me three days before I was freed. My daughters keep asking me ‘Where’s Dad?’ and I have to tell them that the bad people don’t want to release him.”
“You are putting politics above returning the hostages,” Cunio was quoted as saying, noting that she watched hostages die next to her. “You think the men are strong? It’s too hard for them. Bring them all home… don’t wait another month or another year.”
In a partial recording aired by Channel 12 meeting, a family member can be heard asking Netanyahu why he is not wearing the dog-tag necklaces the forum has been selling, which call for the release of all the hostages. The prime minister replies, “It’s next to my bed” and someone yells out, “No, around your neck!”
Sharon Sharabi, whose brothers Eli and Yossi are both still held hostage in Gaza, was quoted by Channel 13 news after leaving the meeting as saying “the prime minister and the cabinet understand that they can’t stay another moment there. The situation for the hostages is only getting worse.”
According to Army Radio, Sharabi said that ministers promised the family members “that all of their decisions moving forward will be made with the consideration that the hostages are in immediate life-threatening danger.”
Danny Miran, the father of hostage Omri Miran, told Maariv that the entire meeting was chaotic.
“The meeting was a model of how the country is run. We were invited for 3 p.m., they showed up only at 3:45 p.m. They let us get mad and fight amongst ourselves — I left in the middle, it’s not acceptable.”
Tuesday’s meeting came after the family members of the hostages demanded on Monday that they be granted an audience with the war cabinet, saying they had been asking to meet for several days.
Netanyahu denied the accusations that the cabinet is ignoring the hostages’ families, and said a meeting with them had already been set for later in the week, but that he would move it up to Tuesday.
Netanyahu first met with the families of hostages on October 15 amid harsh criticism by relatives at the time that the government had forsaken those being held in Gaza.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has held weekly meetings with the families. On Sunday, he told them that military pressure is pushing Hamas to release more hostages.