Families of hostages being held captive by Hamas in Gaza staged a protest on Friday, blocking the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to urge the government to reach a deal to free their loved ones.
The protesters set tires on fire and hostages’ relatives sat in five cramped cages spread across the highway bearing signs that read “SOS,” “Save us,” and “Help.”
The cages were likely a reference to the IDF finding cages in Gaza in January which forces said they believed were used to keep hostages captive.
Israel Police released a statement on Friday evening saying they were redirecting traffic on the road because of the protest. A short time later, they said that they had cleared the demonstrators and traffic was moving smoothly again.
“Mr. Prime Minister, you are the leader, and it is your responsibility to bring them home,” the families said in a statement about the protest. “Agree to a deal, ignore [hardline National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich, and bring home the people you neglected and who have been in hell for 154 days.”
They added that they would not consider it a victory if Israel won the war against Hamas but failed to bring back the hostages.
“If you cannot achieve a deal now, step aside for someone who can,” they said.
Some of the protesters also carried a large sign reading: “The survival of the government [cannot be] at the cost of hostages’ lives.”
Hostage Ofer Kalderon’s cousin, Yifat Kalderon, told Channel 12 News that the protest was urgent because “the chances that they will come back alive are falling.”
“We need to rouse the cabinet and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and they need to understand that we need a deal now,” she said. “They’ll kill the hostages, and we cannot launch another 134 rescue missions.”
As the world marked International Women’s Day, some of the protesters also emphasized that there are still 19 women being held captive in Gaza. On Monday, the UN’s representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, released a report saying that hostages were likely subject to sexual violence which she believed was ongoing.
“There are still 19 women in Gaza,” said one of the demonstrators. “How is Israel living peacefully with this? How is this happening?”
Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253.
It is believed that 130 hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and three were rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas is also holding captive the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during Protective Edge in 2014, as well as two Israeli citizens, Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed, both of whom suffer from mental illness and accidentally wandered into Gaza in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Attempts have been ongoing to reach a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in negotiations in Qatar and Cairo in recent weeks. Talks on Thursday ended without any progress made as both sides continue to blame each other for sabotaging the negotiations. Further meetings are set to begin next week.
Hamas has said a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled.
Hamas is also demanding the release of a large number of prisoners, including convicted terrorist operatives serving life sentences, in exchange for the remaining hostages.
Israel has publicly ruled out those demands, saying it intends to resume the offensive after any ceasefire with the goal of destroying Hamas.