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<\/a><\/p>\nFormer hostage Iair Horn. right, meets with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the White House in Washington, D.C., June 24, 2025. Horn was part of a delegation meeting with lawmakers and White House officials to focus attention on the plight of hostages in Gaza. (White House photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, whose son Hersh was murdered in captivity and TK, posted a picture from their safe room, holding a sign saying in Hebrew, \u201cOur hostages have no safe room.\u201d <\/p>\n
Captivity survivor Naama Levy, who turned 21 on Sunday and spent her previous birthday in captivity, released a video message to mark the occasion and warn against pushing the hostages out of public consciousness. \u201cI ask you, even now, with the war against Iran and all of us preoccupied with so many other things, do not forget the hostages,\u201d she said. \u201cKeep fighting so that everyone can return, just as you fought for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
People like Shaanan took to the streets despite the dangers and the prohibition on large gatherings. And the weekly mass protest turned into a 2,000-attendee virtual rally channeling widespread fears that the war was distracting from the hostages.<\/p>\n
Silvia Cunio, the mother of kidnapped brothers David and Ariel Cunio, also lamented the drop in public interest over the hostages\u2019 plight, telling Walla that she had been contacted \u201cmaybe a fifth as often\u201d over the course of the week compared to previous ones. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to see the war with Iran dominating the headlines while the hostages are pushed to the bottom of the agenda,\u201d she said. Cunio questioned whether the government was still actively working on their release, adding, \u201cI\u2019d like to think so \u2014 and I hope so.\u201d <\/p>\n
She called on Israeli leaders to \u201cstop the war \u2014 both with Iran and with Hamas \u2014 and bring the hostages back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmit Palty Katzir, sister of the late Elad Katzir, said during the Saturday night rally that the \u201chostages are just one agreement away from here. We must break free from this sentiment that diverts attention from Gaza to Iran. This war must end with an agreement that brings all our loved ones home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nira Sharabi, whose husband Yossi was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be\u2019eri and later murdered in captivity, said the war with Iran had retriggered the trauma of Oct. 7. \u201cI\u2019m reliving the fears of the sirens and constantly searching for the sense of safety that\u2019s supposed to protect us,\u201d she said at the Zoom rally. <\/p>\n
Macabit Mayer, aunt to hostage twins Gali and Ziv Berman and sister to Talia Berman, criticized the flood of official statements from the IDF and the prime minister on the achievements in Iran while ignoring the fate of those still held in Gaza. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese days we seem to live in a simulated reality \u2014 a heroic and apparently necessary war, with many successes,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m waiting to hear a sentence, a word, a letter about the 53 souls,\u201d she said, including in her tally three hostages whose bodies had just been returned. \u201cEnough of this torture. End the fighting in Gaza from a position of strength and power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, with Israel claiming victory over Iran, Israeli life is returning to normal \u2014 but with the searing losses of the latest war reshaping reality. Shaanan reportedly asked for no funeral. Instead, her allies are calling for her death to be transformed into an engine of liberation of the hostages.. <\/p>\n
\u201cMay her memory be a blessing,\u201d a protest group posted on social media late Tuesday, alongside half a dozen pictures of Shaanan at hostage rallies. \u201cMay their return be her legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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