Leah Goldin
Leah GoldinHezki Baruch

The families of Israeli citizens missing in the Gaza Strip met Tuesday with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the government's efforts to secure the return of their loved ones. The families of Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul, Abera Mengitsu, and Hisham al-Sayed participated in the meeting.

Half an hour into the meeting, Leah Goldin, the mother of fallen IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, left in tears.

At the start of the meeting, the prime minister suggested that the State fly the families to New York City to take part in a ceremonial event at the United Nations headquarters to raise awareness of the campaign to secure their loved one's release.

Before Leah Goldin left the meeting, she said, "I wonder why you remember us now, after five years in which you did not do anything. We do not need a trip to New York. What you did, we already did two years ago with great success."

The Goldin family said after the meeting that "the gathering of the meeting and Netanyahu's proposals to act in the international arena were aimed first and foremost at silencing the disappointment of the families, a moment before we mark five years since Operation Protective Edge."

"Our feeling during the meeting was that the prime minister is doing all he can to get through the next two weeks, during which the state rally will take place and we will mark the fifth anniversary of the abduction of our son Hadar. Even after this meeting, it is not clear to us why Netanyahu does not raise the issue of the return of our boys as a condition for the rehabilitation and the daily upgrading of Gaza, and whether he intends to keep his promise that the return of the sons will be part of the Gaza arrangement," the family said.