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Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90
The largest group of hostage families has come out strongly against the government’s decision to resume the war in Gaza overnight, stating it was “horrified, furious, and terrified” and accused the government of abandoning the remaining Israeli hostages.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the “greatest fear of the families, the hostages, and the citizens of Israel has come true,” blaming the government for the “deliberate shattering” of the talks with Hamas.
In response, security officials emphasized on Army Radio that the protection of the hostages’ lives would remain the military’s top priority after Israel Defense Forces resumed the fighting with massive waves of airstrikes across Gaza overnight.
“In all the preparations over the past days and weeks, a series of intelligence agencies – the headquarters for captives and missing persons led by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the Intelligence Directorate, and the Shin Bet – worked to ensure that hostages would not be harmed as a result of the resumption of fighting,” the source said.
“Any location where there is even a slight chance that a hostage might be harmed – we do not strike there. That is the number one consideration. The safety of the hostages – above all.”
The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, the Director of the ISA, Ronen Bar, and the Commanding Officer of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, in the IAF’s Underground Operations Center, commanding the strikes in Gaza overnight.
Meanwhile, Hamas, in a statement, also blamed Israel for “overturning” the ceasefire agreement and warned that this move exposed the remaining Israeli hostages “to an unknown fate.”
This past weekend, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff blamed Hamas for the deadlock in the talks.
“Unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire,” he said.
💔 https://t.co/6cxeGtvOiz
— Noa Argamani (@ArgamaniNoa) March 18, 2025
Several family members of the hostages also gave expression to their fear and grief on social media.
An emoji with a broken heart was posted or reposted by Lishay Miran-Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran , as well as by his brother-in-law Moshe Emilio Lavi , and by Noa Argamani, who survived captivity but whose partner Avinatan Or remains in Gaza.
The chairman of the left-wing Democrats Party, Yair Golan, accused the prime minister of using the soldiers and the hostages as “playing cards” in his “game of survival.”
“He trembles in fear of us – from the public protest against the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet. Therefore, we must not let the madness win. The protest must erupt in fury to save the hostages, soldiers, and the State of Israel from the hands of this corrupt and dangerous man,” Golan wrote on 𝕏.
The Hostages Forum further urged U.S. President Donald Trump to push for a return to the ceasefire, rejecting the Israeli government’s stance that military pressure is the key to securing the hostages’ release.
“We call on President Trump to continue acting as he has declared and done so far, for the release of all the hostages. Israel’s government, the hostages’ families demand answers: Why aren’t you fighting in the negotiation room?… There will be no security, no victory, and no recovery until the last hostage returns home.”
However, the forum isn’t the only voice representing hostage families. The smaller and more hawkish Tikva (Hope) Forum declared its support for the IDF’s new offensive.
“The past few weeks have proven what we’ve been saying all along – Hamas will never willingly return all the hostages. Only massive military pressure, a complete siege including cutting off electricity and water, and the conquest of territories that will lead to Hamas’s collapse will force it to beg for a ceasefire and a deal that will bring all the hostages back together, in one phase,” the Tikva Forum stated.
“If the offensive that began this morning continues with full force and without interruption – we will be able to bring all our loved ones home in one phase, on one bus.”
The Gvura (Heroism) Forum, a group representing families of soldiers who fell during the war, also welcomed the government’s decision.
“The time for victory has come! We support the IDF, the government, our heroic soldiers, and all security forces,” Gvura stated.
“The bereaved families stand behind you – destroy Hamas, bring back our kidnapped brothers, achieve victory! All the conditions are ripe, the time for action has arrived, we will prevail.”
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