Members of the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages, which represents relatives who oppose concessions to Hamas, urged the Israeli government on Monday to leverage US President Donald Trump’s support to get all 73 remaining captives out of Gaza by March 1, when the first phase of the ceasefire is due to expire.
Speaking at a press conference outside the Knesset marking 500 days since Hamas kidnapped their loved ones during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, Tikva co-founder Tzvika Mor opened by addressing Cabinet ministers who were set to convene to discuss the next stage of the Gaza truce.
“Today, you will talk about our loved ones who remain there,” Mor said.
“We told you for 500 days that this way, you will not succeed in bringing everyone back, because talking to Hamas is a waste of time. You decided to negotiate, you decided to go for an agreement: Bring everyone back together.”
Ditza Or—the mother of captive Avinatan, who is not slated to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire, said, “Leverage Trump’s ultimatum. By the end of the 42nd day of the deal [March 1], everyone should be here. If you insist on withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor [on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt], agree to it only after the last of the hostages is home.”
Boaz Miran, who after months of waiting recently received confirmation that his brother Omri was alive and in relatively stable condition as of July, noted, “We at the Tikva Forum have argued throughout this period that all the hostages should be returned together, after Hamas is defeated.
“President Trump has been saying the same thing, and has given the prime minister the option to give Hamas an ultimatum,” Miran said. “I expect the prime minister to continue this stage to its completion, but to present Hamas with an ultimatum between day 42 and day 50, to notify Hamas: Return everyone or we will use all the capabilities and means available to the State of Israel to bring all the hostages back at the same time.”
The Jewish state’s negotiators in Egypt and Qatar are currently focused only on the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza truce.
After Monday’s Cabinet meeting, Israel’s negotiators will “receive instructions for the continuation of the negotiations regarding the second stage,” the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem said on Sunday.
Trump over the weekend congratulated the hostages freed in Saturday’s sixth round of the first phase of the truce that took effect on Jan. 19, but made clear that their release fell short of his call to free all the captives.
“Hamas has just released three Hostages from GAZA, including an American Citizen. They seem to be in good shape! This differs from their [Hamas’s] statement last week that they would not release any Hostages,” he wrote on his Truth Social social media platform.
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!” he added, apparently referring to U.S. Eastern Time, or 7 p.m. in Israel.
Trump’s deadline was a reference to his previous warning that the “gates of hell” could be unleashed if Hamas did not release all of the hostages.
According to official Israeli estimates, 73 hostages remain in Hamas captivity after 500 days, including 70 abducted during the terrorist organization’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre in the northwestern Negev.
