At Saturday night’s rally in Hostages Square, recently released captivity survivors and family members of those still held in Gaza delivered a powerful and unified call, urging a comprehensive agreement that will end the war and bring all hostages — living and deceased — home without delay.
Liri Albag, Hamas captivity survivor, shared: "This week I marked five months of freedom — five months of breathing, of living. But it’s also been five more months that my brothers and sisters are still in hell. After everything we’ve achieved — after striking Iran and its proxies — only the hostages remain. This is the moment. The people demand their return."
"I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump: You made brave decisions on Iran. Now make the brave decision to end the war in Gaza and bring them home. Not in phases. Not with partial deals. All of them. Now. This is our moral obligation. This is the only true victory. Because none of us can return to life while they are still underground."
Sharon Aloni-Cunio, Hamas captivity survivor and wife of hostage David Cunio, added: "On October 7, my husband David, our twin daughters, and I were kidnapped to Gaza. After 52 days, the girls and I were released. David was left behind. He’s still there — 631 days in a tunnel, without air, without light, without food."
"On Wednesday, our daughters will turn five. Again, they’ll wish for their father to come home. Again, I’ll have no answer. How can I tell them that in this country — their country — no one has brought their father back? The war with Iran ended in an agreement. So did the war with Lebanon. Now is the time to end the war in Gaza — with an agreement that brings all hostages home. Not in stages. Not some now, some later. All of them. David, I will not give up on you. And I ask this country: don’t give up on him either. This is the moment for moral, historic decisions. For choosing life."
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said, "We will only rise from the ruins when the last hostage returns."
"I believe that moment is close. Closer than ever. So I ask you — don’t give up. Not on the hostages, not on us, and not on this country we love."
Ruby Chen, father of hostage Itay Chen, shared: "I stand here today as a father — a very tired father — who for 631 days has been fighting to return his son, Itay Chen, a citizen of the US, Germany, and Israel. In an alternate universe, Itay would be traveling the globe with his girlfriend — not held in Gaza."
"After Israel’s victories over Iran, Hezbollah, and yes — Hamas — it is time for us to pause and adopt President Trump’s policy of ‘Peace through Strength.’ I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu: You can — and you must — bring the hostages home. The living and the dead. All of them. This is not letting Hamas win. This is leadership. It is not weakness. It is a Jewish moral compass. It is time to act — not based on politics, but on values. The history books will not forget if you fail to act — even if you believe that victory over Iran outweighs your responsibility to October 7th. Hundreds died. Dozens remain in captivity. Bring them all home. Now."
Ilan Dalal, father of hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal, said, "Guy went to dance with his friends — none of them came home. He and Evyatar were kidnapped. Months later, we saw a video of them — pale, weak, terrified — watching their friends being freed. Then the doors closed again, and they were taken back underground. They’ve been tortured, starved, and humiliated for 20 months. And still the war drags on. In the past two weeks alone, 20 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. The same model used with Iran and Lebanon — swift operations, decisive ceasefires — can work in Gaza too. But the delay, the indecision, the grinding war — these are costing lives. There is only one solution: one comprehensive deal. No selections. No one left behind. Bring our hostages home. End the war. Begin to heal."