Israeli hostage families say their children going through a Holocaust
Relatives of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip gathered behind a barbed wire installation in Tel Aviv on Saturday to draw attention to the plight of their loved ones.
"Our children are experiencing a Holocaust. Never again is happening right now. They will not survive much longer," said Einav Zangauker, the mother of a man with dual US and Israeli citizenship who was abducted by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023.
She demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end the war and get the hostages home now.
"Netanyahu, the time has come to do the only thing that will bring back all the hostages - put a comprehensive deal on the table that will end the war!
Shocking hostage videos
In recent days, Hamas and other Islamist organizations in Gaza released videos of two hostages. The families did not authorize the dissemination of the videos, although still images were first allowed by one hostage family and then a second agreed to this on Saturday.
The footage of emaciated hostages in a tunnel shocked many Israelis and reminded them of images of liberated prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II.
The US special envoy Steve Witkoff also visited the families at the site, according to Israeli media reports.
Grandson of Holocaust survivor is Gaza hostage
"I avoided using the word Holocaust until now because I am the daughter of a Holocaust survivor," said Anat Angrest, the mother of a soldier named Matan who was abducted and taken to Gaza on October 7, according to a statement from the Hostage Families Forum.
However, she said she now stood between barbed wire fences because her son was experiencing a second Holocaust.
"My father is experiencing a second Holocaust through his grandson!" she said.
The cousin of Rom Braslavski, whose video was recently released by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, said the video haunted his nightmares.
"Where is the humanitarian aid for the hostages after almost two years?" he asked.
Yael Adar, whose son Tamir was abducted and then killed in Gaza, appealed to the Israeli government.
“When I saw the videos I couldn’t breathe. Sights of skin and bones, and my son doesn’t even get the right to burial," she said
"Get the living hostages out before they’re in my situation."
At least 20 hostages believed to be alive
According to official Israeli figures, 50 hostages are still in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
The Hamas terror attack triggered the ongoing Gaza war. Hamas terrorists and other Islamists killed around 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 others from Israel to the Gaza Strip.
Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive. According to the health authority controlled by Hamas, more than 60,000 people have been killed in the process.