Families of Israeli Hostages Mark 600 Days Since October 7

On the 600th day since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, families of hostages and former captives gathered at the Hostages Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv to mark the grim milestone and demand action from the Israeli government.

Anat Angrest, whose son Matan was abducted by Hamas from a burning IDF tank at the Nahal Oz military base, voiced her outrage and sense of abandonment during the gathering.

“I want to turn here to every mother and father: Imagine standing next to me, that you gave everything to the state and to the homeland but you’re abandoned and forgotten,” she said. “It can unfortunately happen to every one of us.”

Angrest warned that frustration with the state could cause more Israelis to refuse military service or even renounce their citizenship.

“This is not just my war, or the war of the Angrest family, or 58 families,” she continued, referencing the number of remaining hostages believed to still be held in Gaza.

Her sentiments were echoed by Leah Goldin, whose son Hadar was killed during the 2014 Gaza war and whose body has never been returned.

“Hadar was abandoned,” said Goldin. “It was seen as a private matter of the Goldin family. Now there are 58 more Hadar Goldins in Gaza. This is a national issue.”

Also present was Arbel Yehoud, 29, who spent 482 days in captivity, most of them in complete isolation. She was joined by Eitan and Lucas Cunio, whose brothers—David and Ariel—are still captives. They were also accompanied by Yarden Bibas, who was freed in February, though his wife Shiri Hy”d and their sons Ariel Hy”d and Kfir Hy”d were murdered while in captivity. All were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

“I was there. I know exactly what the hostages are going through,” Yehoud said, naming the captives from Nir Oz still in Gaza. “I call on the Israeli nation and its leader, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: Trump opened the door, Edan [Alexander] went out and this door has to stay open until all come home.”

Yarden’s sister, Ofri Bibas, held up a photograph of baby Kfir, who was just 10 months old when he was killed in captivity.

She added: “So many soldiers gave their lives. Wars have to end with diplomacy. How many more soldiers and hostages have to die for this to end?”

Elderly survivor Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, also of Kibbutz Nir Oz, recalled how the government seemed indifferent when Hamas released her and fellow hostage Nurit Cooper at the Gaza border on October 23, 2023. Her husband, Oded Hy”d, was killed while in captivity.

She called the moment “the second embarrassment of the nation,” after the events of October 7.

Several other former hostages and their families took the stage to issue similar pleas. Among them were Ilana Gritzewsky, whose husband Matan Zangauker remains captive; rescued hostage Luis Har; and Tal Kuperstein, whose son Bar is still in Gaza.

Barak Oz, cousin of Bar Kuperstein, shared an emotional dream he had about Bar returning home.

“I felt him, I smelled him,” he said. “I want to cry from that kind of happiness.”

He embraced Bar’s father, Tal, who broke down in tears. A former paramedic, Tal is now confined to a wheelchair after complications during surgery following a car crash, which occurred while he was saving a child’s life.