Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Chief David Barnea will meet on Sunday for consultations on the 101 hostages held by Hamas for 408 days. Barnea will lead the meeting against the backdrop of his efforts to jumpstart negotiations, bypassing intermediary states.
So far, Hamas has rejected all proposals for a hostage deal and remains adamant about its demands for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a total cease-fire.
Defense Minister Israel Katz visits IDF hostage headquarters
(Video Defense Ministry)
Ahead of International Children's Day this week, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum dedicated a rally held Saturday in Tel Aviv to the children affected by the ongoing crisis. The event honored those who have returned from captivity, those still awaiting the return of their parents, and especially the two young Bibas siblings, Ariel and Kfir, who remain in Hamas captivity.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad chief David Barnea
(Photo: Jack Guez/ AFP, Yariv Katz, Alex Kolomoisky)
Ofri Bibas Levy, the aunt of Ariel and Kfir, spoke at the rally: "I want to cry on your behalf the way children shout, 'It’s not fair.' It’s not fair that all the other children have returned, but you are still there. It’s not fair that you 'celebrated' holidays and birthdays in captivity. It’s not fair that you haven’t jumped in puddles, gone to the pool, or played at the beach. It’s not fair that you didn’t start preschool.
"It’s not fair that you haven’t hugged your father, Yarden, for 407 days. It’s not fair that you’ve had to be strong for your mom, Shiri. It’s not fair that you lost your grandparents, Yossi and Margit. It’s not fair that you said goodbye to your dad in a shelter, witnessing and enduring things no child in the world should ever experience."
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Yarden, Shir, Ariel and Kfir Bibas who are still held in Hamas captivity
(Photo: Courtesy)
Avital Dekel Chen, the wife of hostage Sagui Dekel Chen, also shared her emotional story: "Last week, I took my daughters on a three-day vacation. Amid all this pain, I must create moments of joy for them. In one store, my 7-year-old daughter, Bar, came to me and said, 'Mom, look, I found a little chair. Maybe you can buy it for me so I’ll have something to sit on at the rallies?’
"A 7-year-old who wants a chair for rallies calling for her father’s release, as he waits in Hamas tunnels. And if that’s not heartbreaking enough, my 3-year-old daughter, Gali, hums every day with a half-smile, 'Everyone, now.' A 3-year-old singing about redeeming hostages for her father.
"So, for anyone who still doesn’t understand my reality: I am at war. One war is for the return of Sagiv, the love of my life since I was 14 and the father of my children. The second war is for the souls of my daughters."
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