Thousands of Israelis rallied across the country on Wednesday to mark 600 days since the October 2023 Hamas attack, which saw more than 240 people taken captive following a cross-border raid from Gaza into Israel.
The most significant demonstration took place in Tel Aviv, where roughly 3,000 demonstrators filled Captive Square and the adjoining Shaul HaMelech Road. Family members of hostages waved placards and chanted slogans such as “Free the captives”, demanding the safe return of the 58 individuals believed to still be in Hamas captivity.
The rally was opened by Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi, a regular presence at the Hostage and Missing Families Forum’s events.
“Six hundred days since the failure, and another 600 days of failure,” said Ashkenazi to the crowd’s jeers, many of whom carried posters of the captives. “Six hundred days of abandonment, of fleecing the public, of covering up the investigation of the greatest failure in our history.”
Iair Horn, who was freed from captivity in February, recalled the perilous life underground.
“In the tunnels, you can’t know if a Hamas member will get up one morning and just shoot you or if the tunnel where you’re sleeping will be blown up because of a bomb,” he said.
“The captives are facing danger from either dying from a Hamas bullet or from an Israeli airstrike. In one of the air attacks,” he recounted, “Hamas grabbed us, and we started running in a crooked tunnel, which could collapse at any moment, trying to escape the bombing and toxic fumes.”
“We were saved by luck, but the luck has run out,” Horn declared. “Instead of luck, we need to sign off on an end to the war. Instead of luck, we need to bring back the 58 hostages now — drag them out by the arm to a safe place back home.”
He directly addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, drawing boos from the crowd at the mention of his name. “You brought me back home. Do it again.”
Also read: Netanyahu confirms Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar killed by IDF
According to figures released by the Gaza-run Health Ministry — considered credible by the United Nations — more than 56,000 individuals have died since the conflict began. These include 54,271 Palestinians and 1,706 Israelis, as of 27 May.
The Gaza conflict has also claimed the lives of 224 humanitarian workers, among them 179 personnel from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), as well as 220 journalists — the highest toll for media professionals in any conflict since the 19th century.
Furthermore, 120 academics have also reportedly been killed. Human rights experts estimate that around 80 per cent of the Palestinian dead are civilians. A study conducted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), based on three separate verification sources, found that 70 per cent of those killed in residential areas were women and children.
International criticism of Israel’s military actions has grown in recent months. Over 21 countries have now formally threatened to suspend trade or diplomatic relations with Israel, citing its refusal to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and the continued airstrikes on civilian infrastructure.
While the families of the captives and much of the global community call for restraint and negotiations, the Netanyahu-led government has yet to secure the hostages’ release or deliver on its military objectives.
The war, which has devastated large parts of Gaza, shows few signs of abating.
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