President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal met on Monday with the family members of Karina, Liri, Daniela, Naama and Agam – the female observers who were brutally kidnapped from their base at the Nahal Oz outpost on October 7th and have been held captive by Hamas in Gaza ever since.
Herzog said: "I look at you and see amazing mental strength. And I say, how is it possible? How can someone go through this hell for 11 months? I am doing, and I pray every minute and every second for their return.”
He added: "I saw the pathological reports on the six hostages who were murdered in captivity, and I was shocked to the core of my being. Even when you lay them to rest, but also when you read the reports – you understand the immense power of evil. Let us not get confused for even one moment, evil begins and ends with Sinwar – he is the epitome of evil; him and his despicable terrorist soldiers. Having said that – it is clear that all they want is to divide us; divide us and cause conflict between us. They celebrate the fact that we are fighting among ourselves."
"This is a decisive moment," Herzog continued, "if we want to bring the hostages back home, we need to be united with all our strength. And that also means answering the call that was made here right now – the political echelon must come together with all its strength, bear communal responsibility to ensure the release and return of the hostages back home as soon as possible. Together, we have to all take responsibility, we have to take every possible step to push the decision-makers to bring the hostages home."
He added: "It is clear to all of us that any hostage deal will have painful prices. That is clear to us. But I think that without bringing the hostages home, the prices will be much, much more painful for the Israeli society. We need to do everything possible to bring them home quickly."
Israel’s First Lady, Michal Herzog, said: "Your cry is a true and valid cry. Israeli society will never be complete, if we do not bring everyone back. Time is critical, but so is the leaders’ responsibility to act together to achieve this sacred goal and preserve Israeli society. Together. We are with you with all our hearts."
The Otzma Yehudit Party said in response, "The President's call this evening for a 'unity government to return the hostages' is an irresponsible call that cooperates with Hamas propaganda and the blood libel of the extreme left, which claims that the current Israeli government is supposedly not interested in returning the hostages to their homes - when it is only the Hamas murderers who hold them and prevent their return. Otzma Yehudit supports the defeat of Hamas and the return of all the hostages to their homes."
"Otzma Yehudit will continue to oppose an irresponsible deal that will bring us more murdered and hostages, and oppose cooperation in negotiations whose purpose is to blackmail Israel into concessions that will lead to disaster. Heavy and continuous military pressure must be increased in the Strip, and the entry of humanitarian aid and fuel into the Strip must be stopped - until all our hostages are released."