On Saturday, Israelis commemorated a year since IDF troops found the bodies of six hostages who had been killed by Hamas terrorists in a Gaza Strip tunnel.
As relatives urged the government to reach an agreement to return their loved ones, organizers estimated that almost 100,000 Israelis gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to honor them. The unveiling of a massive flag exhorted President Trump to “Make History.”
Israel went into mourning after the executions. Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli, were among the hostages.
In just a few words, how would you like your only son to be remembered? The parents of Hersh, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, told Fox News Digital, “He was a gift, a blessing, a gifted listener, funny, respectful, and a curious citizen of the world.”
“He will always be 23. He was not perfect, although most of us parents want to believe that about our children. But he was, indeed, the perfect son for us. We are blessed to have had Hersh in our life. We only wish it had been for longer. Rest peacefully, sweet boy.”
The anniversary coincides with Israel’s new operation into Gaza City, which has led to a fierce debate on whether it could endanger the remaining hostages, given what happened to the “Beautiful Six.”
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum warned that a deal to secure the hostages remains stalled as IDF operations advance, calling it “a painful reminder of last year’s lesson: military pressure kills hostages.
“This nightmare must end! For 694 days, our loved ones have endured hell, and we as a nation have lost all sense of direction. Escalating military pressure abandons the living hostages to their fate and leaves the bodies of those already dead buried forever in Gaza’s rubble.”
On Friday, the IDF announced it had recovered the bodies of two hostages held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.
According to Israeli estimates, 48 prisoners are still in the Strip. There are thought to be twenty living.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that only a comprehensive ceasefire that guarantees the return of all hostages and ends the war on Israel’s terms will be taken into consideration, these developments have occurred.
“Most families want all hostages returned at once,” stated Tzvika Mor, the father of hostage Eitan Mor and a co-founder of the Tikva Forum, which calls for a comprehensive agreement as long as Hamas is destroyed.
Mor told Fox News Digital, “This is where we are divided.” “The Tikva Forum believes Hamas must be defeated and forced to surrender to Israel, while other families believe Israel must surrender to Hamas to rescue the hostages.”
Mor used the 1976 Entebbe rescue as an example, pointing out that although the outcome was unclear at the time, Israelis generally felt that the nation had an obligation to defend its people rather than give in to terrorists. He maintained that while there are risks associated with military action, letting Hamas set the terms after October 7 is far more dangerous.
Donald Trump implied on Monday that the war would be resolved in a matter of weeks. He presided over a White House meeting two days later to talk about a thorough post-war strategy for Gaza.
Steve Witkoff, the United States’ special envoy to the Middle East, told Fox News on Tuesday that the Trump administration supports Jerusalem in opposition to a partial agreement.
Ten of the twenty hostages that we believe are still alive would have been freed under a deal that has been on the table for the past six or seven weeks, but Hamas slowed down that process.
And now, Hamas is the one advocating that we accept that agreement. And I believe that the Israelis are exerting tremendous pressure on them, which is largely why they are saying that and reconsidering.” Bret Baier was informed by Witkoff during Fox News’ “Special Report.”
According to Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, his Yesh Atid party is in favor of “a full comprehensive deal which will include the return of all the hostages and an end to the war,” as he told Fox News Digital.
“If that deal isn’t possible,” he said, “then Israel should accept the partial deal that has been agreed to, which will give us time to achieve a full deal.”
On Monday, Netanyahu told Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, who was in town, that the decision to increase the military campaign was “unequivocal.”
