The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, which represents families whose loved ones were abducted to the Gaza Strip by Hamas during the October 7 terrorist attack, plans to file an official complaint against the leaders of the Islamist terrorist group at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Ynet learned on Saturday.
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Around 100 family representatives, alongside Israeli and international lawyers, will depart for the Netherlands on Wednesday to officially submit the complaint, on which the Families Forum’s legal department has been working for four months.
Thousands of Jews from across the Netherlands are expected to gather in The Hague to support the families.
The accusations being filed include kidnappings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, torture and more. The filing aims to secure arrest warrants against Hamas leaders to increase pressure for the hostages' release.
In the coming weeks, hostages released from Gaza, along with family members of those still in captivity, will arrive in The Hague to testify against Hamas in court and support the charges against the terrorist organization's leadership.
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Rally calling for release of hostages held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv
(Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Led by Dr. Shelly Aviv Yeini, the legal department of the Families Forum operates on a volunteer basis and has partnered with attorney Yuval Sasson, the Meitar Law Offices, the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP to file the appeal.
In their quest for international support, the families have successfully garnered backing from global leaders who have pledged to stand by them and fight for the return of their loved ones.
Recently, hostages and family representatives met with notable figures including Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, King Felipe VI of Spain, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials.
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Representatives from six families of hostages, including one who was released from captivity, met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI of Spain
(Photo: Royal Palace of Madrid)
Clara Marman, who was kidnapped from her home and released after 53 days, recounted to the King of Spain, "They shot at us, broke the windows and took us from our home in a very cruel manner. We were terrified."
In a meeting with the families of the hostages, the king condemned the Hamas terrorists attacking the communities around Gaza, saying, "It is perverse to know that these communities, which believed in peace and coexistence, were their first target."
During a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez, he told the families that nothing could justify the horrors they endured and continue to experience, expressing solidarity and readiness to assist Israeli citizens. He declared his commitment to pressuring Hamas for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.