‘Hamas shot and kidnapped my brother but we must make peace with Palestinians’

Families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza staged an emotional appeal for a deal to bring them home at an event in London on Thursday, as hopes for an agreement faded.

Relatives of nine hostages, including the mother of a soldier confirmed dead by Israel, delivered speeches at the Israeli embassy in Kensington surrounded by photos of the captives who are entering a sixth month in Gaza.

“We wish for anything to be done so that the hostages are released,” said Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod, 19, was abducted from the Nova festival site on 7 October. “Whatever agreement it will take is the responsibility of the government. They should do it and make sure that everybody will come home.”

Few had received information about the condition of their loved ones. “The government don’t tell us anything because they don’t know,” said Inbal Zach, whose cousin Tal Shoham was taken from the Be’eri Kibbutz. “We need symbols [proof] of life.”

Some had heard fragments from hostages who were released in a previous exchange deal in November, such as reports of a cousin maintaining her yoga routine in captivity.

Inbal Zach (L), cousin of Tal Shoham, Avivit Yablonka (C), sister of Hanan Yablonka, and Orit Meir (R), mother of Almog Meir, hold their relatives' pictures along with a poster with a collage of portraits reading "Get them out of hell" during a press conference by family members of people being held hostage by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Israeli embassy in London on March 7, 2024. Envoys pushed on with efforts for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal in Cairo talks, hoping to halt nearly five months of fighting with days to go before Ramadan. The war began after Hamas launched the October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in about 1,160 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The militants also took around 250 hostages, and Israel believes 99 of them remain alive in Gaza and that 31 have died. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 30,717 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images) — From left, Inbal Zach, cousin of Tal Shoham, Avivit Yablonka, sister of Hanan Yablonka, and Orit Meir, mother of Almog Meir, hold their relatives’ pictures along with a collage of portraits reading ‘Get them out of hell’ at a press conference at the Israeli embassy on Thursday (Photo: AFP/Getty)

Michal Cohen, 17 – no relation to Yehuda – heard that her brother Eliya, 27, was alive but with a gunshot wound to the leg from his fiancée Ziv, who was with him at the Nova festival and escaped by hiding under bodies. The family also believe they saw a photo of Eliya on a Hamas Telegram channel.

“He is a very strong and happy man so we really trust that he will be okay,” Ms Cohen told i. “Even if he is injured in his leg, and he gets anaphylactic shocks that can be dangerous.”

The teenager has been campaigning with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum in Israel and abroad to secure the release of her brother, and holds her government responsible as well as Hamas.

“I think the government can do more,” she said. “They don’t want to free some [Palestinian] prisoners for hostages, and I think we need to do that… The deals between the government and Hamas are failing, part because of Hamas and part because of our government.”

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are ongoing but mediators played down hopes for a swift deal on Thursday. The sides have differences over the length of a truce – Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire, which Israel says it won’t accept – and which Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange for Israeli hostages.

Israel also claims that Hamas is witholding a list of which prisoners remain alive, with dozens thought to have died in captivity.

Ms Cohen believes the fate of hostages such as her brother is “not the most important thing” to her government. The authorities were also slow to offer support to hostages’ families, she added, although the state is now providing counselling services.

The brutality of this phase of the conflict, which started with more than 1,000 Israeli deaths and has since cost the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, has not made the teenager hate the people on the other side of the border.

The conflict can be resolved, she says. “Both sides need to give up something, because if Israel wants everything and the Palestinians want everything we are never going to solve it.

“In this war, I realised a lot of things for the better and worse about Palestinians and I think they realised things about us too.”

But “the ones in control on both sides” are not learning, she added.

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