Thousands of Israelis are fighting for their rights: the only way Israel can get rid of hostages and missing persons, and why Israel’s military headquarters is holding them hostage
TEL AVIV, Israel — Shmuel Brodutch sits under a tent outside Israel’s military headquarters every day now, with one demand of his leaders: to strike a deal with Hamas for the release of his three young grandchildren and daughter-in-law.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, told The New York Times this week that there will be no pause without the return of hostages and missing persons. “The only way of saving the hostages is if Israel continues its ground operation.”
It’s unclear how Israel can pursue its twin goals of getting hostages released safely and eliminating the very group holding them. Many Israelis are open to a deal with Hamas to free captives.
Hamas leaders claim that they don’t have control over all of the captives since other groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, entered Israel and took some hostages of their own.
A recent Israeli opinion poll has found that nearly two-thirds of Israelis support a prisoner exchange. Another poll found split opinions but no overwhelming opposition.
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A lot of them will be dead if the army goes to free them. I don’t want to get my grandchildren back as corpses,” Brodutch said of his grandchildren, who are four, eight and 10 years old.
She said in a recent video that a ceasefire and prisoner exchange is destructive for our children’s future, and that could lead to another Oct. 7 style attack.
A massive advocacy effort has been formed by the main group representing family and friends of the Israeli hostages. The group has been careful not to adopt an official position on how Israel should secure their release.
Shiri Grosbard, the colleague taken hostage, doesn’t want to tell government or other officials how to do that. “We just want them home.”
But the families have been ramping up pressure on the Israeli government, demanding meetings with Netanyahu and accusing the government of not prioritizing their loved ones’ release over Israel’s military bombardment on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 10,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
About 6,700 inmates are being held in Israel on what are called security offenses. That includes about 560 serving life sentences for the killing of Israeli civilians and soldiers over the decades, according to Qadoura Fares, a Palestinian official in the West Bank who oversees prisoners’ affairs. There are at least 65 women and hundreds of children among them.
“It’s the worst of the worst murderers that killed Jews for decades,” said Yohanan plesner, director of the Israel Democracy Institute. “We have never dealt with the situation of so many Israeli hostages, so many innocent Israelis, kids, and people that are held in captivity.”
He believes that the Israelis will be willing to go far in order to get them freed, but not at the cost of their ultimate goal of dismantling Hamas.
Israel had delayed its ground attack to give some time for the hostage negotiations to be completed, according to two of the officials. It went forward despite the talks stalling, because it was assumed that Hamas would bow to military pressure.
Around 1,400 people were killed on Oct. 7 when Palestinian attackers penetrated towns and bases in southern Israel. They also took about 240 captives back to Gaza, including civilians and Israeli soldiers.
Israel has prevented fuel deliveries into Gaza, claiming that Hamas uses it for its rocket attacks and that it has stockpiled fuel meant for civilians. Aid organizations said fuel was one of the biggest needs of Gaza, to keep everything running.