‘Don’t lose hope’: Families of hostages shout across Gaza border to loved ones

Hostage family members gathered on the Gaza border on Sunday morning to symbolically shout through loudspeakers to their loved ones held captive by Hamas in the Strip and demand a deal for their return.

Among those who went to the border, near Kibbutz Nir Oz, was Menashe Harush, uncle of hostage Elkana Bohbot, who was seen Saturday in another propaganda video published by Hamas.

Harush called the video — which showed his gaunt-looking nephew addressing his wife and son in a mock phone call — “obscene.”

The distraught uncle called for the release of all the hostages at once through a deal, rather than in separate stages.

“We don’t have time to wait. They need to get out of there,” Harush said. “We feel the situation is not good. We are worried. Every day there is a dangerous day.”

Yehuda Cohen, the father of 20-year-old hostage Nimrod Cohen, heaped scathing criticism on the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We know there’s no chance you’ll hear us 40 meters underground,” said Cohen, addressing his son from the stage. Instead, he said he was speaking directly “to the one who is to blame for you being there,” referring to the premier.

“He [Netanyahu] continues to wage war at the expense of the hostages… of your blood, in order to survive. Netanyahu, resign! You’ve failed, and that’s only putting it mildly,” he continued, declaring that the “one who will save us” is US President Donald Trump.

In English, Cohen called on Trump to “force Netanyahu to end this bloody war… so we can get our loved ones back home.”

Nimrod’s mother Vicky, meanwhile, called out to her son: “Nimrod, my beloved child, this is mama speaking. We miss you terribly. Your room and your friends are waiting for you. Don’t lose hope — we will bring you home.”

Lishay Lavi-Miran, whose husband Omri Miran remains in captivity, spoke about the toll of his absence on their two young daughters.

“Every morning, Roni and Alma wake up and ask, ‘When will daddy come back from Gaza? I don’t have an answer. There are some who may have one, but they are not telling us,” she said.

“We are waiting for you and I promise you that you will hear the word ‘daddy’ again. You will see Roni and Alma running towards you for a hug with me too and not only just in a dream. I know that you are holding on. You are strong, just a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer and you will be here,” she continued.

“Last night, Roni was happy. She woke up in the night and told me, ‘Mom, I felt like daddy was really here. Daddy hugged me,’” said Lavi-Miran of her youngest daughter.

Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of captive American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, urged an end to Gaza hostilities and said that even though the family received a sign of life from him on the first night of Passover, “nothing is okay.”

“Though I am tired, I am not giving up. A grandma does not give up on her grandson!” she said, urging her grandson to hold on “just a little longer.”

Freed hostage Ilana Gritzewsky, whose boyfriend Matan Zangauker is still in Hamas captivity, shouted to her partner in Hebrew and Arabic, while on the verge of tears.

“I’m tired of waking up to an empty bed, I need you by my side,” she lamented in Hebrew. “My body is here, [but] my soul is with you in the tunnel.”

Continuing in Arabic, she vowed to her partner that he would return home so that the two could “recover together, get married and build a family in our country.”

“Habibi, my beautiful curly-haired one. Don’t lose your light, don’t lose your strength and your smile… I love you, and you are coming back, I promise you,” she said.

Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri said Saturday that the idea that all the hostages can be returned under a single agreement was “spin.”

“It is impossible to return everyone with one deal. This is a spin. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t want to return our hostages. We are doing everything to return the hostages, and the moment we return everyone, we will eliminate Hamas. It is impossible to do a deal for everyone. Hamas is demanding an end to the war,” Dostri told Channel 12.

A short time later, Netanyahu vowed that he would not end the war with Hamas in Gaza until the terror group is removed from power. Critics have argued that additional military operations endanger the remaining hostages and won’t accomplish what Israel was unable to do during the first 15-plus months of the war.

There are 24 hostages who are believed to be alive and were slated for release in the proposed second stage of the ceasefire deal agreed upon in January, which fell apart in March as Israel renewed the fighting in Gaza.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip still hold a total of 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Negotiations to resume the ceasefire and release the remaining hostages have stalled, with Hamas on Thursday rejecting an Israeli proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, reiterating that it opposes any truce deal that does not end the war.