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Every statement released by the Prime Minister's Office has deeply affected the hostage families for over a year and a half. On Friday evening, just before the second Passover holiday, PM's office said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would deliver a "special statement" on Saturday, without specifying its topics. The families braced for yet another moment of uncertainty.
Vicky Cohen, the mother of abducted soldier Nimrod Cohen, addressed Netanyahu on social media, writing: "This is Nimrod's mother speaking. Such an announcement, right before the holiday, throws us into a whirlwind of emotions and indescribable suffering." She added, "The only sentence I hope to hear is: 'I am stopping the war and bringing Nimrod and all the hostages back.' Any other statement will break my heart." Cohen concluded by urging Netanyahu to consider the families' pain during the holiday.
On Saturday, as every week, the main rally will take place at Hostages' Square in Tel Aviv under the theme "We Only Have One Pulse Left." The gathering reflects growing frustration with the phased release method, which has torn families apart. Ruby Chen, father of hostage Itay Chen, said: "The families have endured a year and a half of hell. Instead of understanding the magnitude of the situation, the government has divided the families, who now argue over who is 'more humanitarian.'"
The Hostage Families Headquarters called on the public to attend the rally, stating: "All hostages come first. Reach an agreement to free all hostages—those alive for rehabilitation and the fallen for burial. History will remember those who acted and those who stayed silent."
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At the rally, Omer Shem Tov, a survivor of captivity, will deliver his first public speech, with a plethora of other hostages family members to follow.
Lior Simcha, Secretary-General of the Kibbutz Movement, emphasized: "We embrace the hostage families and ensure this issue remains central to Israeli society. Without the hostages' return, there can be no recovery for the kibbutzim or Israeli society as a whole."