Some 2,000 people gathered outside the Kirya Army headquarters on Begin Street in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and demand a deal for the hostages. For its part, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Disappeared held its quieter weekly gathering a block away, on Place des Otages.
Speaking through a megaphone at the entrance to the military base, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, accused Netanyahu of deliberately derailing the talks, saying she would be his “worst nightmare” he couldn’t bring his son back alive.
“I know from interviews with those responsible for the negotiations that you have no intention of bringing Matan back, that you lied to me,” she said.
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“That you do not intend to end the war in exchange for a comprehensive agreement. »
“You said you were committed to bringing back everyone, but you plan to bring back only a few and kill the rest through military pressure,” she accused.
“I am not threatening you, I am telling you: you will have neither forgiveness nor clemency,” Zangauker continued.
Israelis take part in a rally calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, at Hostages Square, in Tel Aviv, December 14, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
“Personally, I will sue you if my Matan comes home in a body bag. I will be your worst nightmare. »
« [Le ministre de la Sécurité nationale Itamar] I Gvir et [le ministre des Finances Bezalel] Smotrich made you a rag, but I know how to deal with rags like you,” she added.
Yifat Calderon, the cousin of hostage Ofer Calderon, spoke before Zangauker, criticizing the prime minister for claiming that his wife, Sara Netanyahu, and his spokesperson were mistreated.
“Stop confusing the minds of the people,” she said.
“The victims are those who were murdered, raped and kidnapped on October 7 [2023]. »
Hundreds of people took part in the weekly gathering of the Forum of the Hostages and the Missing at the Place des Otages, while recent reports suggested that the government could sign an agreement to bring back the “humanitarian” hostages, namely those who are elderly, sick or female.
The forum demanded that in the event of a “truce for hostage release” agreement, all the hostages be brought back at the same time, considering that after more than 400 days of captivity, they are all humanitarian cases.
Ex-hostage Sharon Aloni Cunio, whose husband David Cunio is still in Gaza, said Israel “must not aim for a partial deal – a deal that sentences those who remain to death.”
“A partial deal is a hole in the heart of this country,” she said.
“A partial deal would mean we are willing to abandon David and all the other men there. »
“They are no less important, no less human,” she added.
She said being separated from her husband during the week-long truce in November 2023 was “the most difficult moment of my life”.
“David looked me in the eye and said in his most frightened voice, ‘Sharon, don’t give up on me, fight for me,’” she reported.
“I promised him then and I still promise him now. »
Itzik Horn, father of the hostages Yaïr and Eitan, protested against the ministers who opposed an agreement for the hostages which they described as a “surrender”.
“It’s easy to say that when your kids are sitting around the table with you,” he said.
“My children have been languishing in the Gaza tunnels for 14 months. »
“Anything short of bringing them home now is capitulation,” he added.
Referring to next week’s Hanukkah celebration, he continued: “I don’t want a miracle. I want the State of Israel, which abandoned its citizens on October 7 and has continued to abandon them for over 14 months, to come to its senses and fulfill its first and foremost moral duty: to bring its citizens home now. »
Before this demonstration, a thousand anti-government demonstrators had crowded the Begin-Kaplan intersection, also known as Democracy Square.
Danny Elgarat, whose brother Itzik Elgarat is being held hostage by the Hamas terror group in Gaza, speaking to protesters calling for a deal to secure the release of Hamas hostages, on Begin Road, Tel Aviv, 26 October 2024. (Credit: Yoram Shpirer/Protest Movement for Democracy)
No fewer than three stages had been set up there, with speakers railing against the government in tandem, each with their own take on how it is ruining democracy.
On one of the stages, set up by a group charged with registering volunteers to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience in the future, a speaker said those registered will have a place to sit and disrupt the traffic, possibly for days, at any time. He estimated that such a moment will occur if, or when, the government ousts Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara or the head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, Ronen Bar.
The anti-government demonstrators left this important intersection at 8 p.m. to join the families of hostages in front of the headquarters of the Kirya army.
The hostage’s brother Itzik Elgarat urged US President-elect Donald Trump to pressure Netanyahu to accept a “truce for hostage release” deal.
“We believe in your strength to quickly reach an agreement. Don’t let go of Netanyahu, demand from him a comprehensive agreement that allows the return of all and the end of the war,” declared Danny Elgarat alongside other families of hostages during their weekly meeting with the press in front of the Kirya.
Einav Zangauker herself denounced the “political considerations” which, according to her, have an impact on the talks.
“Due to these political considerations, the negotiations concern a partial agreement and not a global agreement,” she declared, while criticizing ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir for “pushing for the establishment of settlements in Gaza and not being ready to end the war.”
