'We Can't Abandon the Hostages': Tens of Thousands Rally Outside Knesset

Tens of thousands gathered outside the Knesset for a rally supporting the hostages Sunday night, April 7, exactly six months after they were kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza on October 7.

“Half a year that the 133 hostages are being tortured day in and day out, every minute, in Hamas captivity,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The forum also addressed the IDF pullout of southern Gaza on Sunday, saying that “the withdrawal of forces should be the first stage in a hostage deal. Now, we must not abandon the hostages in Gaza.”

Released hostage Itay Regev spoke at the rally, talking about the emotional torture faced by the hostages, and about how Hamas would tell them that no one cared about bringing them home. “I just want to ask our leaders, is it true? Have you given up on them?” he asked.

“Are the terrorists correct? I would like an answer, but before the [Knesset] recess if possible,” he said, referencing the parliamentary break that began Sunday.

Released hostage Agam Goldstein-Almog also spoke, recalling her time in captivity. “I used to think a lot about who the people fighting for me were, who is dealing with my release, and you are those people, a huge part of them,” she told the crowd. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we pray for all the hostages who were violently abducted on October 7. We ask in Yeshua’s name that the ones who are still in captivity be released immediately with no further delays, and that all of the hostages, both former and current, be healed from the torments that the terrorists inflicted on them. We pray for their physical and emotional healing.”