How Israel’s grassroots hostage households group turned a robust worldwide power

[ad_1] Yolande Knell Center East correspondent, Jerusalem

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3436/live/aceb1840-dd17-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="BBC Itzik Gvili, father of the last dead Israeli hostage in Gaza, Ran Gvili, speaks to supporters at Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, Israel (12 December 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC Itzik Gvili calls for the return of his son Ran, the final useless hostage in Gaza, in Tel Aviv's Hostages Sq.

In central Tel Aviv, the principle stage has now been dismantled in Hostages Sq., the point of interest for the marketing campaign over the previous two years to carry again Israelis held in Gaza.

Close by, indicators and posters have been taken down, and the Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board has vacated the places of work that served as its nerve centre. Of the 251 hostages seized by Hamas and different Palestinian armed teams within the 7 October 2023 assaults, 168 have been introduced again alive from Gaza, eight have been rescued. Just one deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, stays.

With songs and prayers as a substitute of mass rallies, the Gvili household and a small crowd of supporters assemble in Hostages Sq. every Friday to mark the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath; this week, a candle for the Hanukkah vacation was additionally lit.

They're decided to carry again the younger police officer who was killed by Hamas fighters after he rushed to assist individuals being attacked in Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel in October 2023.

"I really feel every single day remains to be the 7 October. We did not cross the 7 October, however we're robust, and we're ready for him. We do no matter we want," says Itzik Gvili, Ran's father. "This offers us hope: the assist of the individuals."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3333/live/68e2dfc0-dd26-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters A statue of a mother embracing a child is seen under a tree with the photos of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, at Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, Israel (14 January 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters The Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board's slogan is: "Convey them dwelling now"

From the beginning, individuals energy has been key to the hostage households. As its operations wind down, members of the Hostages Households Discussion board have been reflecting on its extraordinary evolution which turned the grassroots group into a robust worldwide lobbying power.

Within the horrible aftermath of the 2023 Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, which additionally killed some 1,200 individuals, an enormous group of distraught kinfolk gathered for the primary time in Tel Aviv desperately looking for solutions about their lacking family members. Due to the incoming rocket hearth from Gaza, they met in an underground automobile park.

"We have been collectively, shocked, and it fell on me that that is truly actual, that now we're going to face this unbelievable problem of understanding the place all these individuals are, getting them dwelling," remembers Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat had been snatched from Kibbutz Be'eri.

"And the second factor is that we'll do that collectively. I am not going to face alone."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/018b/live/92056f40-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Gil Dickmann (2nd Right), cousin of dead hostage Carmel Gat, speaks at a rally demanding the release of all the hostages in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel (4 October 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters Gil Dickmann (2nd R) stated the general public assist gave him hope after kidnapping of his cousin, Carmel Gat

The formation of the brand new discussion board, with its slogan: "Convey them dwelling now", gave the hostages' households a much-needed sense of regaining management.

"It was very, very highly effective to really feel that when the federal government and Israeli state, in a manner collapsed in these very first few days after 7 October, it felt like nothing was working, what was working was Israeli society," Mr Dickmann says. "So many great individuals got here to assist. That introduced me numerous hope."

Dividing its efforts between supporting the households - a lot of whom have been bereaved and displaced from their properties following the assaults - and campaigning in Israel and world wide, the Hostages Households Discussion board labored with greater than 10,000 volunteers. They included former Israeli diplomats, legal professionals and safety officers.

Funded totally by donations, it started to pay some workers, and a high-tech firm loaned its central Tel Aviv workplace house.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0862/live/a7f7e3c0-dd23-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters A person enters a makeshift tunnel symbolizing Hamas's tunnel network in Gaza, at Hostages Square" in Tel Aviv, Israel (14 January 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters A makeshift tunnel symbolizing Hamas's tunnel community in Gaza was constructed at Hostages Sq.

In November 2023 - greater than six weeks into the brutal warfare in Gaza, which had by then killed greater than 14,000 Palestinians in keeping with the Hamas-run well being ministry - Israel and Hamas agreed to a Qatar-mediated truce.

This noticed most ladies and kids hostages returned in trade for Israel releasing greater than 240 Palestinian prisoners, all girls and kids. Hamas additionally freed some international nationals.

However after per week, the preventing resumed with ferocity. About half of the hostages have been left in Gaza. In December, three Israeli hostages have been killed by Israeli troopers in Gaza regardless of the actual fact they have been shirtless, waving a makeshift white flag, and calling out in Hebrew.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/717f/live/44460d30-dd27-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Israeli Prime Minister's Office/handout via Reuters Released hostage Itay Regev is reunited with his sister Maya Regev, another released hostage, shortly after his arrival in Israel after being released by Hamas in Gaza, at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel (30 November 2023)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Israeli Prime Minister's Workplace/handout by way of Reuters Itay Regev and his sister Maya have been launched through the November 2023 ceasefire

These have been troublesome days for the Hostages Households Discussion board and in early 2024, with polls suggesting extra Israelis prioritised eliminating Hamas over the return of these nonetheless held captive, it introduced in political strategist, Lior Chorev, as marketing campaign supervisor.

"We have been in deep warfare in Gaza, deep warfare in Lebanon, there was the Iranian risk, and it appeared that all the pieces was caught, and public opinion was in opposition to us," Mr Chorev explains.

"As a civil society organisation, we couldn't influence whether or not or not there's going to be a deal, however we may work onerous on the Israeli public opinion to make sure that if a deal got here into place, it will have a sound civilian majority throughout the nation."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0a90/live/886e13a0-dd21-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Palestinians run as a building is destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, northern Gaza (5 September 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters Gaza has been devastated by the two-year warfare sparked by 7 October 2023 Hamas-led assaults on Israel

In addition to Saturday night demonstrations within the plaza in entrance of the Tel Aviv Museum of Artwork, now renamed Hostages Sq., there have been near-daily actions by the Hostages Households Discussion board starting from live shows and artwork installations to civil disruption. Media and diplomatic groups helped maintain the hostages on the centre of consideration.

"They stored going 24/7 for 2 years," feedback Instances of Israel political correspondent Tal Schneider who, like visiting international officers, typically went to the discussion board's HQ.

"This place turned like a international ministry for the nation, for the households of 250 individuals."

Trying again, Michael Levy says his intensive campaigning helped him take care of the "emotional rollercoaster" after his sister-in-law, Einav, was killed on the Nova Pageant and his youthful brother, Or, was taken hostage alive.

"The one factor that helped me was changing into lively. I used to be interviewed on a regular basis. I went with 15 completely different delegations to over 12 nations. I spoke to whoever was keen to hear and did not need to cease and assume," Mr Levy says.

"You have to keep optimistic on a regular basis. You have to inform your self each morning that right now goes to be the day that he'll be launched, regardless that you already know you might be mendacity to your self."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0241/live/808fa710-dd22-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Michael Levy holds a poster of brother of then-Israeli hostage Or Levy in Ganei Tikva, Israel (17 December 2024)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters Michael Levy's brother, Or, was launched through the ceasefire that lasted from January to March 2025

Though a hostage-prisoner trade deal to finish the warfare specified by mid-2024 was described by then-US President Joe Biden as an Israeli proposal, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was broadly seen as dragging out hostilities to help his personal political survival – a declare he rejected.

Tensions rose between the Hostages Households Discussion board and Israel's authorities; there was open animosity from some authorities supporters.

The state of affairs worsened after a Netanyahu aide was accused of intentionally buying and illegally leaking a top-secret doc to a German newspaper to affect how Israel's public considered negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage deal.

The doc was misleadingly solid as suggesting that stress on the prime minister performed into the fingers of Hamas.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/249a/live/157b4780-dd23-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters People visit the site of the Nova festival in southern Israel, where hundreds of people were killed or taken hostage during the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, at Reim, southern Israel (27 March 2024)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters A whole bunch of individuals have been killed or taken hostage on the Nova music pageant through the 7 October 2023 assaults

For Mr Dickmann and Mr Levy, there was a low level after they headed to Washington for Netanyahu's deal with to a joint assembly of US Congress in July 2024 with different discussion board members.

They confirmed off T-shirts saying "Seal the deal" throughout an ovation for the Israeli chief and have been arrested for an illegal demonstration. "That was one of many moments during which I felt most alone," Mr Dickmann says. "It was one of the vital horrifying issues and it was whereas Carmel was nonetheless alive in captivity."

The worst information got here a month later when Carmel and 5 different hostages have been killed by their Hamas captors, because the Israeli navy closed in close by.

Mr Dickmann says it was solely an "unbelievable assist group" of youthful discussion board members that helped him get by means of the ordeal.

After the Israeli deaths have been confirmed, offended protesters flooded the streets of Israeli cities. The discussion board places the whole quantity at 600,000.

In Tel Aviv, a crowd of hostage households and their supporters marched with six prop coffins. A crowd gathered exterior Israel's navy headquarters and clashed with police on a significant street.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/172d/live/632a1de0-dd1d-11f0-aae2-2191c0e48a3b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA Thousands of people supporting the families of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza take part in a protest outside the Israeli military's headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel (1 September 2024)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> EPA The killing of Carmel Gat and 5 different hostages by their Hamas captors sparked an enormous protest in Tel Aviv

By the beginning of 2025, worldwide opposition to the devastating Gaza warfare had reached new heights because the variety of Palestinians killed approached 48,000, in keeping with Gaza's well being ministry.

In Israel, polls indicated a transparent shift in Israeli public opinion, with a rising majority backing a hostage deal to finish the warfare. With the election of a brand new US president, the Hostages Households Discussion board was more and more directing its efforts stateside.

"They wanted to bypass their very own authorities," feedback Ms Schneider. "A very powerful individual for the job was clearly [US] President [Donald] Trump. There have been indicators written in English carried by the individuals and they might pack all their messages right into a one-minute video, and so they'd ship it to him."

Working with regional mediators, the US secured a brand new Gaza deal between Israel and Hamas in January 2025, simply as Trump took workplace. The primary stage introduced again 33 hostages – eight of whom have been useless – in trade for practically 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. 5 Thai hostages have been additionally launched.

However in mid-March, Israel ended the ceasefire, resuming its heavy bombing of Gaza, with out beginning talks on the deal's second stage, which concerned a full finish to preventing and the return of the remaining hostages.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6c1b/live/51874e10-dd1c-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="The White House US President Donald Trump meets six former hostages - left to right: Iair Horn, Eli Sharabi, Omer Shem Tov, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Noa Argamani, Doron Steinbrecher, and Naama Levy - at the White House on 6 March 2025" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> The White Home Launched hostages travelled to Washington to ask President Donald Trump to make sure the return of these left behind in Gaza

Frail and emaciated following his launch in February underneath the ceasefire deal, Or Levy was emotionally reunited together with his three-year-old son, his mother and father and brother Michael. Nevertheless, Michael's pleasure was short-lived. He rapidly resumed his campaigning with others within the Hostages Households Discussion board.

"I obtained what I needed, I obtained my brother again, however I could not simply cease," he says, "I could not be joyful as a result of in these 491 days, they turned my household. I nearly felt I knew all the opposite hostages, that each hostage nonetheless there was a part of my household."

Newly freed hostages gave TV interviews saying that they had been starved and overwhelmed in captivity, typically in response to the ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Regardless of their trauma and fragile well being, a number of of the previous hostages travelled to the White Home urging President Trump to make use of his affect to carry again all of the residing and useless Israelis that they had left behind in Gaza.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e03b/live/aba00b90-dd20-11f0-a8dc-93c15fe68710.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Released hostage Evyatar David reacts upon arrival at Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital, in Petah Tikva, Israel (13 October 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters Evyatar David was among the many final 20 residing hostages freed shortly after the present ceasefire started in October

There have been extra dramatic moments.

In September, an Israeli air strike unsuccessfully focused the exiled Hamas management because it met in Qatar, a regional mediator, to debate a brand new ceasefire proposal offered by the US.

Nevertheless, the final word impact was to push the Trump administration - backed up by its Arab allies – in direction of a brand new plan to finish the warfare, which had by then killed greater than 67,000 individuals in Gaza, in keeping with the territory's well being ministry.

Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire deal, underneath which all 20 residing and 28 useless hostages nonetheless in Gaza can be handed over in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli jails, in addition to a surge in humanitarian support and a partial Israeli withdrawal.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/71e7/live/61d55bf0-dd20-11f0-b67b-690eb873de1b.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Former Palestinian detainees, released by Israel in exchange for living Israeli hostages held by Hamas, gesture from a coach, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza (13 October 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Reuters Israel launched about 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees from Gaza in trade for the residing hostages

When Trump's Center East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, arrived in Israel simply after the newest ceasefire began on 10 October, they have been greeted by rapturous applause on stage in Hostages Sq..

On 13 October, the remaining residing hostages got here again.

"I am going to by no means have a happier day in my life," says Mr Dickmann, remembering seeing his greatest associates reunited with their family members.

Mr Chorev, the Hostage Households Discussion board's chief strategist, considers that long-held Jewish and Israeli traditions gained by means of.

"This fundamental worth of the Israeli theme that you do not depart anybody behind, that you simply're accountable for each Israeli held by the enemy, this was one thing that was unclear to sure parts within the Israeli authorities," he says. "However it was very clear to the Israeli public."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7e85/live/d7f7ddd0-dd16-11f0-af84-cd34b828e627.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Tali (left) standing next to a fellow volunteer at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum tent at Hostages Square, in Tel Aviv, Israel" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Tali (L) has been serving to out hostages' households for the reason that starting of the warfare

Slowly, 27 of the useless hostages' our bodies have been returned to Israel over the previous two months.

Amid the ruins of Gaza, the place well being ministry officers say the variety of Palestinians killed has risen to greater than 70,000, Hamas operatives and the Purple Cross have been looking for Ran Gvili's physique east of Gaza Metropolis.

Now, the final funds of the Hostages Households Discussion board are getting used to assist the Gvilis and some dozen volunteers proceed to go to Hostages Sq. on Fridays.

"We've got been right here within the rain and in practically 50-degree [Celsius] warmth, from winter to summer season," says Tali, from Tel Aviv. "Now that that is practically over, I've combined feelings. There's nonetheless one hostage who hasn't come again. I instructed myself I might keep till the final one."

A symbolic tunnel, a big "Hope" signal and a piano put within the sq. in honour of now launched hostage, Alon Ohel - a musician - haven't but been eliminated, nor has the large countdown board which marks the times since 7 October 2023. A remaining mass rally is promised for when Ran Gvili's physique is returned for burial.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5ac6/live/00659e70-dd2a-11f0-bd7f-0d902d663e8a.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Itzik and Talik Gvili, parents of Ran Gvili, speak to the BBC" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Itzik and Talik Gvili are decided to carry their son Ran dwelling for a correct burial

Israel's prime minister has by no means appeared in Hostages Sq., however he has met with launched hostages and hostage households, together with these from a small, different group to the Hostages Households Discussion board, the Tikva Discussion board. The Gvilis belong to each.

The household joined a candle-lighting ceremony on the primary night time of Hanukkah with Netanyahu.

"We are going to carry Ran again, simply as we introduced again 254 out of our 255 abductees," the prime minister stated. "Some didn't imagine. I imagine. My associates within the authorities believed. They stated: 'It is going to be a miracle.' I stated: 'This nation performs miracles.'"

However in Israel, painful questions linger over why extra hostages' lives weren't saved.

The Hostages Households Discussion board just lately launched harrowing Hamas movies recovered in Gaza which present the six hostages who have been later murdered, together with Carmel Gat, celebrating Hanukkah in a tunnel in 2023.

The hostage disaster continues to solid an extended shadow over Israeli society; whilst many take coronary heart from the households' message of endurance and solidarity.

Extra reporting by Davide Ghiglione and Gidi Kleiman

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