‘It’s a desperate time’: The increasing anger of Gaza hostage families towards Netanyahu

Tom Bennett speaks to some of those whose loved ones are still being held captive about their lack of faith in the Israeli prime minister to do anything other than wage war

Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza demonstrate in Jerusalem (AFP via Getty)

It’s a hard and desperate time,” says Eyal Kalderon, who last saw his cousin Ofer more than six months ago.

Ofer is among the 250 people who were taken hostage by Hamas during their brutal attack on 7 October, during which around 1,200 people were killed.

He was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz – one of the worst-hit Kibbutzim – alongside his two children Erez, 12, and Sahar, 16. In November, the children were freed as part of a temporary truce and hostage exchange, but Ofer and more than 100 other Israeli hostages remain in Gaza.

But some hostage families, alongside many other Israelis, are fast losing patience at the failure, despite a long and bloody military campaign, of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring home those who are still held captive.

As international calls for a ceasefire continue to grow, huge areas of Gaza have been flattened by months of Israeli bombardment. More than 33,000 Palestinians are dead, according to health officials in the Hamas-run strip – 13,800 of those are children, according to Save the Children.

Across the weekend, tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu and his war strategy, following the recovery of the body of Israeli hostage Elad Katzir from inside Gaza by Israel’s military. In some of the strongest scenes of anti-government sentiment since the war began, protesters chanted “Elections now,” and “Elad, we’re sorry.”

“I think that Netanyahu’s main target is to continue with the war as much as possible,” says Kalderon, “because when the war finishes, he’ll have to answer many difficult questions and take responsibility for what happened on 7 October.”

Pope Francis meets families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Vatican (via Reuters)

The international community, too, is losing patience with Netanyahu. Late last month, the UN Security Council finally pushed through a call for an immediate truce, after months of political wrangling. After vetoing a number of similar resolutions, Israel’s staunch ally the US abstained, allowing the demand to pass, signalling a scaling-back of US support for the war.

Divisions with Israel’s Western allies were strained even further last week, with the killing of seven aid workers – three of them Britons – by drone strikes that Israel’s military said were the result of “grave errors”.

This week, the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, will head to Washington for talks that will primarily focus on Ukraine – but are likely also to touch on the question of Western support for Israel. On Sunday, Cameron wrote an opinion piece for The Sunday Times stating that the UK’s support is “not unconditional”.

“We expect such a proud and successful democracy to abide by international humanitarian law, even when challenged in this way,” Cameron said.

Pope Francis met with relatives of some of the hostages during an hour-long audience on Monday. The pontiff has called for the immediate release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, and for humanitarian aid to be provided urgently to desperate Palestinians.

A renewed round of ceasefire talks were held in Cairo over the weekend and attended by delegations from Israel, Qatar and the US. The US contingent included CIA director William Burns, whose presence underlined Washington’s desire to reach an agreement that would free the hostages and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

On Monday, two Egyptian security sources and state-run Al-Qahera News said some progress had been made in the Cairo talks. The security sources told reporters that both sides had made concessions that could help to pave the way for a deal, as proposed in previous talks, involving a truce that would be staggered over three stages, with the release of any remaining Israeli hostages and a long-term ceasefire addressed during the second stage.

A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest in Tel Aviv demanding the release of hostages taken in the 7 October attack (Reuters)

However, a Hamas official said that no progress had been made in the latest talks. Meanwhile, a Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts told reporters that deadlock continued over Israel’s refusal to end the war, withdraw its forces from Gaza, allow all civilians to return to their homes, and lift a 17-year-old blockade to allow speedy reconstruction of the coastal enclave. The negotiations continue.

One of the key sticking points between Israel and its allies over the future course of the war is a proposed offensive against Rafah, which would see Israeli forces descend on the city at the southernmost tip of Gaza. Rafah is the last remaining refuge for more than a million Palestinians who have nowhere else to go. On Sunday, Israel announced it had withdrawn most of its troops from southern Gaza, and that Palestinians were starting to return to the city of Khan Younis, which has been devastated by months of bombing.

The US and the UK, along with a number of other countries, have warned against an assault on Rafah, while Israeli former hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin has told The Independent that he believes it will not achieve what Netanyahu wants.

“Netanyahu’s thinking is that if they go to Rafah to find and kill [Hamas commanders], the chain of command will be broken and hostages will be freed,” Baskin says. “In my opinion, this is a clear recipe for getting hostages killed, as well as a lot of soldiers – and yes, the Hamas leaders as well.”

Yet the plan does maintain some support among the families of those held hostage – even if they don’t completely trust Netanyahu to achieve what is needed.

Aviram Meir, whose nephew, Almog Meir Jan, 21, was taken hostage in October, says: “We have to press them [Hamas], they have to feel the blade on their throat ... We tried all the other ways, by the way, but it’s not working.

“The problem is that I’m not sure that my prime minister can deliver it. Six months that he promised us to demolish Hamas, and they are still here,” he adds. “But I don’t want to change him [Netanyahu] now, because changing the government will be bad for the process for the hostages, and bad for the social situation in Israel.”

Baskin says Israel should be united over the return of the hostages, but how to ensure their return is causing divisions.

“The public is divided,” he says, “thanks to Netanyahu. This should be a consensus issue but it has been politicised.”