Around 100 representatives of the families of hostages held by Hamas arrived at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Wednesday afternoon to formally lodge a complaint against Hamas leaders. Despite the rain, hundreds of people gathered outside the court to express their support for the families and to demand the safe return of all the captives in Hebrew, English, and Dutch.
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Raz Ben-Ami, who was released from captivity by Hamas while her husband Ohad is still being held hostage, spoke outside the court, marking the day with a poignant message: "Today is Valentine's Day, and my husband Ohad, the love of my life and the father of my daughters, is still in captivity. We have been married for 28 years. He proposed to me 10,950 times, and every morning I said yes. I think about him every day and night."
Recalling the traumatic events of October 7th, when their kibbutz was infiltrated by hundreds of terrorists, Raz shared the harrowing experience: "My husband and I were kidnapped from our beds, in our pajamas, and cruelly taken to Gaza. My beloved Ohad, I hope you can feel me. I am here for you, waiting for you. We came here today to demand justice. The world cannot remain silent. Every second my husband is in danger. He doesn't have time," she added.
Gal Dalel, the brother of captive Guy Dalel, who survived the attack at the November 2022 party and was subsequently abducted to the Strip, also addressed the gathering outside the court, reminiscing about the Nova festival where they last met: "I was also at the party. When I arrived at the festival, my little brother Guy was waiting for me at the entrance. He was so excited to see me and so happy that I had come. It was his first festival."
"When they rescued me, I discovered that Hamas had released a video of Guy. In the video, you see him on the floor with a torn shirt, looking into the camera and saying his name in a dark room. He looked scared, confused and helpless. 131 days ago Guy went with his three best friends to a festival of peace and love. One of them was kidnapped with him, two others were murdered. We have no way to reach him, talk to him, or even know how he is - while he is subjected to daily physical, sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of cruel terrorists, along with 133 other innocent captives. The hostages are running out of time, they need medical treatment. We need the help of the world to save their lives."
Subsequently, Eitan Regev, who was released together with his sister Mia from Hamas captivity, played the last phone call of their father before their kidnapping. Later, Yamit Ashkenazi, sister of Doron Steinbrecher held captive by Hamas, played the last recording of her sister screaming to her friends "they caught me" before she was kidnapped.
According to Ashkenazi, "I go to bed every night, and wake up every morning, thinking about Doron's panicked voice - pleading for help. The world must wake up and open its eyes, look us in the eyes and start acknowledging what we went through. The world needs to know that my sister has been in a tunnel for 131 days - it's cold, she's hungry, without medication and exposed to sexual violence. The world needs to scream with me and demand that my little sister, along with 133 other hostages, be released immediately."
Dr. Shelly Aviv Yeni, who leads the legal team for the Families Headquarters, stated outside the court that "Hamas crimes, including murder, kidnappings, forced disappearances, torture, and sexual violence, cannot and should not go unpunished." The Families Headquarters for the Return of the Captives and Missing Persons revealed that the complaint contains "1,000 testimonies of murder, abduction, sexual violence crimes, torture, and other accusations."
The families of the captives filed the complaint against Hamas leaders following South Africa's lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice for "murder." In its decision, the court ruled that, among other things, Israel should facilitate the expansion of humanitarian aid to Gaza, prevent incitement to murder, and prosecute those who advocate for it. Additionally, the court ordered Israel to submit a report on the execution of these directives within a month. However, the court did not call for an end to the conflict in the Strip.