Politics & International Studies

Hostage families see no benefit of military operation in Gaza. They are let down by Netanyahu

Hostage families see no benefit of military operation in Gaza. They are let down by Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

The families and friends of the Israelis held hostage by Hamas want two things: an immediate hostage deal with Hamas rather than reliance on military operations in Gaza, and early elections in Israel.

Author

Khinvraj Jangid, Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA) and Director, Jindal Centre for Israel Studies (JCIS), O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.

Summary

The families and friends of the Israelis held hostage or killed by Hamas did not conduct solemn candle marches to mark six months of the 7 October attack. Instead, they held Israeli flags and torches and brought the country to a halt.

For long, the families of the hostages maintained a distance from the anti-government protesters—the liberal, secular, progressive, feminist, and Left who led the successful Kaplan Street protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reforms last year. They used to assemble in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, in an open space called Hostages Square (kikar hatufim). The families comprise diverse people with different political preferences and ideological stances, and they didn’t want to face the polarising question of being pro- or anti-Netanyahu.

After anxiously waiting for six months, they are broken and desperate—the Netanyahu government has failed to bring their loved ones back. And so they want two things: an immediate hostage deal with Hamas rather than reliance on military operations in Gaza, and early elections in Israel.

Published in: The Print

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