On the 561st day of the war, tens of thousands gathered Saturday evening in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to demand the return of Israelis still held captive in Gaza. The rally opened with a new sign of life from American-Israeli hostage Idan Alexander, shared by his family. Relatives of other captives thanked the crowd for showing up on the holiday weekend to support their cause.
Idit and Kobi Ohel, whose son Alon is being held in Gaza, said they recently learned distressing details about his condition.
“We met with Eliya Cohen and discovered new information about Alon’s situation,” they said. “He’s suffering from injuries and nightmares. Until a few months ago, there were people with him—and now he’s alone, wounded, bound, and starving.”
Speaking on the last day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, Alon’s parents recalled the story of the Red Sea splitting. “It wasn’t only divine power, but the courage of a people who cried, ‘Enough,’” they said. “We call on you tonight to cry out with us—a cry that will pierce the heavens and split the sea: enough with the tunnels, enough with the hunger. Tonight, everyone must be free.”
Ayelet Samerano, mother of the murdered hostage Yonatan Samerano, spoke of her daily ritual. “Every morning I enter his room, I smell his motorcycle helmet, his water bottle, and I cry out to the sky: my Yonati, when will you return? How will you return?” she said. “Tonight is Mimouna, and my blessing is this: we want all 59 hostages here, with us. I appeal to the decision-makers—bring them all back. They represent everyone.”
Ilana Gritzewsky, who survived captivity, described what she endured while held in Gaza. “They hurt me physically, mentally, and sexually—until I reached the lowest depths of humiliation,” she said. “But Hamas did not defeat me. They did not take my spirit, my faith, or my hope. The government chooses to turn its back, continuing a war that could be a death sentence for the hostages.”
Anat Angrest, mother of soldier Matan, directed her words at fellow mothers. “Before you send your son into battle, look at mine—he was sacrificed,” she said. “No more military pressure, no more war. If your son falls in combat, what guarantees his return? The only thing that will save your son—and mine—is an agreement. I’m here tonight to cry out the pain of the soldiers who were betrayed by the state that sent them to fight.”
Former hostage Omer Shem Tov also addressed the crowd. “My name is Omer Shem Tov, and I am a free man,” he said. “Last week I sat at the Seder and sang, and I understood what this holiday means. But this freedom cannot be whole without the freedom of my brothers still in Gaza.”
“I’m here to ask why they’re still there. To shout: help,” he continued. “When I was there, I saw you all in the square, fighting—and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to the IDF soldiers who fell in battle, and to those still fighting. Thank you. The majority of the nation is now calling on the prime minister to bring everyone back in one deal. If that means ending the war, then end it.”
At a separate rally earlier in the day on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among those still held, repeated the families’ core demand.
“For months we’ve been shouting that the only way to bring them all home is through an agreement that ends the war,” she said. “That’s the will of the people and it’s in Israel’s interest. But Netanyahu refuses to end the war for his own reasons—and is burying the hostages in the tunnels.”
Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, appealed to former US President Donald Trump. “The experiment failed,” he said. “Netanyahu led you—and all of us—down a path that led nowhere. Forty-one hostages have already been killed as a result of military pressure. Netanyahu’s interests are the opposite of the Israeli interest and the people’s will—to end the war and bring them home. Please, don’t stop. Use your power to force Netanyahu to make a deal and bring everyone back.”
Omri Lifshitz, whose parents Oded and Yocheved were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, also spoke. “They were taken alive from the home they loved—the kibbutz they helped build,” he said. “My father was kidnapped separately from my mother and left to die in agony. My mother, despite her age, has not rebuilt her life but instead fights every day for the return of all the hostages, while enduring vile attacks. Only an agreement will bring the living home—and ensure that those who have died are not lost forever under heavy bombardment.”
