At 17:35 this evening, the symbolic clock at the Hostages' Square in Tel Aviv stopped for the first time since it started running at the outbreak of the war.
The ceremony took place at the initiative of the Families Headquarters for the Return of the Hostages, with the return yesterday of Ran Gvili, the last hostage who remained in Gaza.
The ceremony began with entering the code to stop the clock, followed by speeches from Shira Gvili, Ran Gvili’s sister; Michel Illouz, the father of Guy Illouz, who was killed in captivity; Yael Eder, the mother of Tamir Eder, who fell defending Kibbutz Nir Oz; Segev Kalfon, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival; and Malachi Shem Tov, the father of released hostage Omer Shem Tov.
Captivity Survivor Rom Braslavski stated: “The clock may have officially stopped, but it hasn’t really stopped. We can officially say that one war has ended and that we have no hostages in Gaza. But now we’re moving from one war to another, much harder war: the war of rehabilitation, which is also very difficult to endure. I want to wish all those wounded by this war, whether soldiers, hostages, or myself, that we succeed in emerging from this cursed war, in rehabilitating ourselves, and doing everything necessary to restore our souls to what they once were."
"I wish us all to complete this rehabilitation as we should. We’ve been through everything, and we’ll get through this too."
Captivity Survivor Segev Kalfon said: “I first saw this clock in footage that reached us in Gaza: a clock counting the hostages’ time not just in days but in minutes and seconds. That’s exactly how we felt, how every minute was an eternity and every second could be the last second we’d breathe."
"When I saw photos of you from the square, standing here with our pictures, supporting our families and calling out in the clearest way ‘Until the last hostage,’ you were our light and hope. You were our strength, and no less than that, you were the strength of our families. For me, this is the time to say thank you. Thank you for being here for us. Special thanks I must give to the Hostages Families Forum. I see the connection the families have to this incredible place.
"Stopping the clock is a defining moment, but it’s not the end. It marks the completion of one critical and major phase in which all 255 hostages are no longer held by the abhorrent Hamas and its affiliates. Now 87 families of fallen hostages, including 46 who were kidnapped alive like me and murdered in captivity, these families, together with all of Israel, can turn to begin their rehabilitation process alongside us, the captivity survivors. Because this is grief that touches all of us, everyone who lost friends and brothers since October 7th," Kalfon said.
Captivity Survivor Elkana Bohbot stated: “I have to tell you that you are the foundation of Israeli society. You are truly this nation’s soul. Really. I’m moved to stand here. Thanks to them, I received a photo of my son inside the tunnel. Thanks to you, we received hope, we received light, and we received faith that no one gave up on us. Ever. I love you all."
Malki Shem Tov, father of captivity survivor Omer Shem Tov, said: “For 844 days, the clock kept running, counting every day, every minute, every second since our world stopped on October 7th. Thank God we can finally stop counting."
"Thank you to all the people around the world, across every nation, who stood with us and raised our voices. Thank you to the Jewish Federations, the Jewish communities who supported us since day one, and the people of Israel who proved that this is our home. Thank you, President Trump, for making this day possible.
"From the time we founded the Families Forum, we knew it wouldn’t be a happy ending for all the families. It is a bittersweet ending to our struggle to bring them all home. All the hostages have come home. We will always remember those who lost their lives on October 7th and after. We must never forget what happened on October 7th."
Shira Gvili, sister of Ran Gvili, who will be brought to burial tomorrow, stated: “This clock can be stopped and we can return and walk, breathe with relief, mourn, and tomorrow bring Ran to his eternal rest. In the last 844 days, I felt every minute, every split second in longing and anticipation for Ran. The world kept moving, but I wanted it to stop with us. And now he’s here, not as we wanted, hoped, and prayed, but he’s here. He and 86 other fallen hostages have been returned to Israel for burial, and he is the last."
"This square is a special place. This square is so much more than asphalt. This square is the people, it’s you. Fellow hostage family members who embraced me warmly, staff and volunteers of the Hostages Families Forum who never gave up until the last hostage."
Captivity Survivor Yosef Haim Ohana, said: “If they had told me then that I would stand here when this clock stops, I would have spent those entire two years smiling. But not because I would have known I’d finish this alive. Rather because I would have known there would be people who would be here until the end and wouldn’t give up. Thank you for not giving up. It’s all thanks to you."
Michel Illouz, father of Guy Illouz, said: “Those seconds, days, and hours that we’re now finishing counting will never erase the hands of thought and sorrow for me and 45 other families whose loved ones were murdered in captivity. I will never be able to stop thinking and calculating the number of days that maybe Guy would have returned alive if an earlier deal had been made. Maybe then they could have come home alive. I will never be able to erase the image of my parting from my firstborn son Guy, who returned as a bag of bones. Unfortunately, I will have to live alongside the infinite pain with my enormous loss and ours as a nation."
Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, said: “Today we turn off the clock counting the days that living and fallen hostages were held in Hamas captivity. We turn off the clock at the end of an inhuman chapter in which we fought for the return of the hostages, for social values of mutual responsibility, solidarity, concern for the helpless, and not leaving anyone behind."
"But I will never stop counting the massacre, the lack of protection, the abandonment, and the breaking of the covenant between citizen and state. I will count these days until the end of my life, with every breath in which my Tamir is missing from this world.
"On the day we stop the clock with emotion, with the return of the last hostage, I ask to remember the pain and loss of thousands of families who deserve a great embrace and eternal remembrance of the greatest failure in the state’s history. We must do everything to prevent the next failure. We turn off the clock with a prayer that we never have to turn it on again.“
