IDF Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir met today (Sunday) with families of hostages whose loved ones were killed or murdered in captivity.
During the meeting, the Chief of the General Staff expressed his deep appreciation for the honest conversation and emphasized the IDF’s commitment to acting to return all the hostages.
“We are currently operating in the areas from which the terrorists infiltrated into the communities near the Gaza Strip. We will act to decisively defeat Hamas and do everything in order to ensure this does not happen again. The return of the hostages is constantly top of mind for me and for every IDF soldier. It is a top priority, a noble and vital mission. The military operations in the Gaza Strip are being carried out in full coordination with the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters. We will continue to act to bring the hostages home and to dismantle the Hamas regime," Zamir stated.
Among those to participate in the meeting: Merav Svirsky, sister of the late Itay Svirsky; Esther Buchshtab, mother of the late Yagev Buchshtab; Jon Polin, father of the late Hersh Goldberg-Polin; Katya Beizer, mother of the late Nick Beizer; and Re'ut Even Tov, relative of the late Chaim Peri.
The Chief of Staff was joined by Major General (Ret.) Nitzan Alon, head of the IDF's Hostage Command.
The family members who participated in the meeting stated that "it was a dignified meeting, and we thank the Chief of Staff for taking the time to hear our words. It was important for us to hear his commitment to the mission of returning all the hostages—a top priority for him and a noble goal. The most important mission for him and the IDF is bringing back the hostages.
"We emphasized to the Chief of Staff the grave dangers facing the hostages with the expansion of bombardments and military pressure—dangers that cost us the lives of our loved ones. We wanted to serve as a warning for the 58 hostages who can still be returned—the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial, which provides at least basic closure for families. We stressed that in our view, the only way to bring them back is through an agreement, even at the cost of ending the war."
They added: "We wanted to speak out on behalf of those who are in Gaza. It is unbearable to think that someone else will have to pay such a price,whether facing death or disappearing forever. We sought to emphasize again that the war objectives presented to us by the political leadership are conflicting and contradictory. We asked the Chief of Staff and IDF commanders to continue clearly conveying to the political leadership the mortal danger facing the hostages as a result of military attacks. In conclusion, we told the Chief of Staff that it is our duty to warn him so that no other family will have to pay the price we paid."