Government ‘will never evade responsibility’ for Oct. 7, says Einav Zangauker after her son returned in deal; Labor MK Kariv urges further anti-government struggle, full end to war
Tens of thousands of people gathered at rallies across the country Saturday night, demanding the return of the remaining bodies of dead hostages still held in Gaza after the last living hostages were released Monday under the ceasefire deal with Hamas.
At the main rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Einav Zangauker, mother of recently released hostage Matan Zangauker, told the crowd of thousands that national rehabilitation after the October 7, 2023, onslaught and mass kidnapping will only be complete when the last bodies return and when those responsible for the failures surrounding the unprecedented attack, chiefly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “go home and face justice.”
Before the rallies, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a press statement that “the agreement that was signed to bring back the hostages is being blatantly violated — our struggle is not yet over.”
“Our moral, ethical and national duty is to bring back everyone, until the last hostage,” said the forum. “Their return is a necessary step toward rehabilitation and genuine Israeli renewal.”
The hostage deal required Hamas to release the remaining 20 living hostages, and the deceased hostages accessible to it, within 72 hours of Israel’s October 10 withdrawal to the so-called Yellow Line inside Gaza. At least one slain hostage’s relative has criticized the government for failing to insist on a precise deadline for the return of the dead hostages.
Hamas released the living hostages in time and has so far released 10 of the last 28 dead hostages still in Gaza, plus two caskets on Saturday claimed by the terror group to contain two more. In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners and detainees, including 250 terror convicts serving life terms.
Hamas has said it would require additional machinery to locate the remaining deceased hostages. Israel has accused Hamas of lying, and the Families Forum has called for the ceasefire deal, which includes steps to address Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, to be suspended over Hamas’s failure to return all the bodies.
‘Go home and face justice’
At the Tel Aviv rally, Einav Zangauker, a prominent figure in the regular demonstrations over the past two years, thanked the thousands of people who gathered in support, but stressed that “our struggle is not over until the last slain hostage returns to us.”
In an address that moved from gratitude to the public for its support to fury at the nation’s leadership, Zangauker denounced Netanyahu and his government for the October 7-related failures and for “failures that continue to this day,” and demanded that they “go home” and “face justice” following a state commission of inquiry, which the government has resisted forming for over two years.
She opened by paying special tribute to soldiers and families whose loved ones were killed fighting in Gaza.
She charged that on October 7, 2023, when Matan and his partner Ilana Gritzewsky were abducted by Hamas, “there was no functioning government.”
Instead, Israelis “of all stripes got up on their feet and for two long years responded to every need,” she said.
“The government and its head, Benjamin Netanyahu, are responsible for the October 7 debacle. They are responsible for the fact that kids were snatched from their beds in pajamas, that for long hours families needed to hide in safe rooms and even hide among corpses until help arrived, and help arrived late,” she said.
“They are responsible for the fact that soldiers were killed fighting in places [in Gaza] that we supposedly conquered time after time,” Zangauker said, in criticism that stretched to the subsequent war’s management.
Alluding to Netanyahu’s plan to rename the war as the “War of Revival,” she added: “They can change the name of the war as much as they want, but they will never evade responsibility.”
“The return of the dead hostages and end of the war are only the first act in fixing the failure and healing the country,” Zangauker said. “The rehabilitation will be complete only when all those responsible for the debacle go home and face justice.”
She hailed activists who stood alongside the hostage families, and the whole nation for its support: “Let every Hebrew mother know that she has an entire nation behind her,” she said, paraphrasing a quote by Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. The nation demands the return of all the fallen hostages and the return of every soldier from Gaza, she added.
“Now, for the first time in two years, I will let myself fulfill my dream — going back to being a mom to Matan, Natali and Shani,” she concluded.
Other, smaller rallies were held in dozens of locations across the country, including Jerusalem, Kiryat Gat and the Shaar HaNegev Junction in the south, said the Families Forum.
Labor MK hails anti-government rally, vows more action
At a nearby anti-government protest outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, Labor MK Gilad Kariv thanked the hundreds of demonstrators, saying they — who have protested throughout the war in explicit opposition to the government, rather than merely for the return of the hostages — are “the ember from which the grand democratic protest movement will reignite.”
The left-wing lawmaker hailed “the protest that is not content with a truce, but demands a final and total end to the war; the protest that remembers the deep connection between the judicial overhaul and October 7; and that doesn’t forget that even now, Netanyahu prefers to dance the tango with Hamas and the Qataris instead of negotiating for peace” with the Palestinians.
Kariv added that he is also addressing what he describes as excessively polite fellow opposition members.
“From now on, 100 percent determination, zero percent purism,” he said.
Kariv said that alongside the happiness at the return of the last living hostages, “we will never forget that this deal could have been reached many months ago… and we will never forget the bereaved families of fallen IDF soldiers who paid the dearest price because of the dragging on of this war.” Netanyahu has repeatedly argued that a deal similar to the one signed wasn’t possible before now.
“And yes, we also do not close our eyes to what has happened in Gaza,” Kariv added.
Concluding, he slammed the “political police” for its treatment of the so-called “trash bin detainees” — six anti-government activists arrested last month for setting fire to recycling bins near Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence during a protest there, which sparked blazes that engulfed a resident’s car and forced the temporary evacuation of an adjacent building.
“There is selective enforcement in Israel and it’s directed at us,” he said, noting the police’s failure to similarly detain people who attacked a Reform synagogue in Ra’anana earlier this year, and a right-wing mob that stormed two military bases last year in protest of the arrest of reservists suspected of sexually abusing a Palestinian inmate.
At the same protest, Yael Or, cousin of dead hostage Dror Or, called on the government to apply whatever pressure it can to return the remains of Dror and the other deceased hostages still in Gaza.
However, she stressed that “we are absolutely not calling for the war to be renewed. We’ve warned for two years that war would kill the living hostages and make the slain unfindable.”
“Our nightmare has come true,” she said. “What did you think would happen? You’ve killed and bombed and destroyed. Did anyone think about the consequences that the destruction would have?”
“You signed this deal. Make sure to complete it. Do everything you can to bring back everyone,” she said.
“Our story doesn’t have a happy ending. There is no catharsis, there will be no emotional embraces and tears of joy. But it might have an end,” she said. “True, we’re tired, but we have no choice but to go on and fight for this place. This is our home.”
As reported by The Times of Israel