Dozens of families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza began a march on Tuesday from a location outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art that is now known as 'Hostages Square' to Jerusalem. The families intend to arrive in the capital city Saturday night to demand a meeting with the government's war cabinet.
In a press conference prior to the start of the march, one participant, Yuval Haran from Kibbutz Be'eri, listed his family members held hostage by Hamas: "Seven people from my family are kidnapped in Gaza," he said, "including small children. Yael, 3 years old, Naveh, 8, Noam, 12. My mom, who is also a grandmother. All my family is there.
"The kidnapped don't have time," Haran said, "and we don't have time. For 39 days we have been in endless worry, every moment we live in this pain, and we can't sit and wait anymore."
"I demand from Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet to give us answers and actions," said Shelly Shem Tov, whose 21-year-old son Omer was dragged into Gaza five weeks ago. "Where are you? Where are you?" she said.
The march will take place over 5 days, arriving in Jerusalem on Saturday
The march will take place over five days, over a distance of sixty-three kilometers. The participants plan to stop in Be'er Yaakov Tuesday night, in Kibbutz Gezer Wednesday night, at Latrun Junction on Thursday, and at Kibbutz Maaleh haChamishah on Friday, where the group will host a Shabbat dinner. The march plans to enter Jerusalem on Shabbat day, for a culminating demonstration Saturday night.
Shortly after the march began, its participants found themselves under pouring rain. "We will do everything we need to," said "Meirav Leshem Gonen, whose son, Romi, is held captive in Gaza, as she walked down the Ayalon Highway in a blue raincoat. "The rain is nothing for us." She called on citizens of Israel to join the march: "Come, join us. We'll give you a coat. Just come and say to the heads of this government, we aren't going anywhere, we are the nation, and we want the hostages now."
Since Hamas's attack on October 7, during which at least 240 Israelis were taken into captivity in Gaza, families of those held hostage have organized to call on the government, as well as international bodies, to act for the captives' release. Last Saturday night marked the second week in a row that demonstrations have been held in cities across the country. Thousands attended the rally in Tel Aviv on November 12, including Reuven Rivlin, the former President of Israel, and the singer Shlomo Artzi.
Haim Rubinstein, the spokesperson for a families' activist group, said in an interview with Channel 13 on Monday that "members of the families [of the kidnapped] are sitting in their homes, anxious about the fate of their loved ones, and they want to do something, right now." Their plan, he said, is to "arrive in Jerusalem and meet with the Prime Minister, with a clear demand: return all of them, now."
In a statement on Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "Our hearts are always with the abductees and their families. Since the beginning of the war, we have been working continuously to free our abductees, including exerting increasing pressure since the beginning of the ground maneuver. If and when there is something concrete to report on - we will."
Reuters contributed to this report.