A protest and Selichot rally was held on Saturday night near the home of Defense Minister Benny Gantz in Rosh Haayin, calling for the return of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, whose bodies have been held by Hamas in Gaza since 2014.
Simcha Goldin, Hadar’s father, said, "The person who sent my son, Hadar Goldin, to the battlefield during Operation Protective Edge was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who left him in the battlefield, and for seven long years did not bring him or Oron Shaul despite the opportunities there were."
Goldin noted the various efforts made by the Netanyahu government for the residents of Gaza without demanding the return of the soldiers. For example, he mentioned the transferring of money from Qatar to Gaza and the deliveries of ventilators and vaccines to Gaza during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goldin noted that "we are standing here during the Selichot period outside the house of the Chief of Staff of Protective Edge, Benny Gantz, the man who sent the IDF soldiers into Gaza, the man who did not bring the soldiers back. During his time it was decided that the IDF did not enter medical facilities and that is why Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin are still in Gaza."
During the rally, the participants read the names of the victims of Operation Protective Edge, in which Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul took part.