Families of Israeli hostages and freed captives urge Netanyahu to implement Gaza deal

FAMILIES OF ISRAELI hostages still held in Gaza, along with dozens of freed captives, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today to fully implement the Gaza ceasefire deal and prevent a return to war.

“The war could resume in a week … Only an agreement that brings them all at once will ensure their return,” said Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, a hostage still held in Gaza.

“Netanyahu has turned my son Matan and other hostages into pawns in his political game of chess,” she added.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire ended on March 1 after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, though hostilities have not resumed.

While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.

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“How can the remaining hostages be abandoned after witnessing the horrific conditions of those who returned and hearing their Holocaust-like testimonies?” Zangauker asked.

She and several relatives of hostages still held in Gaza rallied in Tel Aviv this evening, joining hundreds who took to the streets urging Netanyahu to implement the remaining parts of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Omri Lifshitz, whose father’s remains were returned last month in a hostage-prisoner swap under the ceasefire deal, also took aim at the prime minister.

“Netanyahu, if you restart the war, hostages will die because of you. Their blood will be on your hands,” Lifshitz said.

His father, Oded Lifshitz, was taken hostage during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. Israeli officials say he was “murdered” by his captors from the militant group Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza.

This comes a day after a group of 56 captives freed from Gaza also urged Netanyahu to fully implement the ceasefire deal.

“We who have experienced the inferno know that a return to war is life-threatening for those still left behind,” the group said in a letter posted on social media platform Instagram on Friday evening.

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“Implement the agreement in full, in one single manoeuvre.”

Among those to sign the letter was Yarden Bibas, whose wife and two young sons were killed while held captive in Gaza.

Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has said are dead.

On Saturday, a high-level Hamas delegation is expected to hold talks with Egyptian officials over the second phase of the ceasefire, two senior Hamas officials told news agency AFP the day before.