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<\/a><\/p>\nIsraelis gather at Hostages Square to demand an official investigation into the events of October 7, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 2, 2026. (Mostafa Alkharouf\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Mayor Ron Huldai unveiled new signage at the plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on Wednesday, formally adopting the name Israelis had used for the site for close to three years.<\/p>\n
Hostage families and their supporters gathered at the square for mass rallies, weekly Shabbat gatherings, vigils and public events demanding the release of those held in Gaza. The plaza was also filled with crowds celebrating as hostages returned home.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory cannot be erased, and we must not allow it to be forgotten,\u201d Huldai said at the unveiling. \u201cThe decision to name this place \u2018Hostages Square\u2019 is intended to ensure that this chapter in the history of the State of Israel, from October 7, 2023 until the return of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, on January 26, 2026, will be remembered for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The formal designation settles a debate over whether or not the site\u2019s role in one of the more significant events in Israel history should be remembered or erased. <\/p>\n
After a deal was announced in October 2025 to free the remaining living hostages, Dani Miran, whose son Omri spent 738 days in Hamas captivity, personally urged Huldai to rename the plaza \u201cReturnees Square.\u201d Other proposals included \u201cHeroes Square\u201d and names emphasizing unity, while relatives of hostages whose bodies were still being held in Gaza argued that the existing name should remain until everyone was returned.<\/p>\n
The last hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, was returned to Israel on Jan. 26 after his remains were recovered in Gaza. The following day, the clock in Hostages Square that had counted the time since Oct. 7 was stopped after 844 days. <\/p>\n
The site still carries a political charge: In July, protesters met at the square to call for an official inquiry into the lapses that facilitated the Oct. 7 attacks, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fiercely resisted. The alleged failures of the day have become an issue ahead of Oct. 27 elections.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Geller, who handled international communications for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and spent much of the war alongside hostage families at the square, said she was glad the name was being formally preserved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the space will be in the future, it will be important to honour\u201d what it meant during the war, she said. \u201cIt gave the families a place to come to feel the support of the community, to get out of the house and to be nourished through the worst times of their lives, body and soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
By July, Tel Aviv\u2019s municipal naming committee had backed Huldai\u2019s proposal to make \u201cHostages Square\u201d the plaza\u2019s official name, saying it had become a national symbol of solidarity and the campaign to return the captives. Until then, the site was officially known as the plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art despite \u201cHostages Square\u201d becoming its universally recognized name.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the site of a courageous and determined struggle led by families who did everything they could to bring their loved ones home,\u201d Huldai said. \u201cTel Aviv-Yafo had the privilege of being their home, and together with residents of the city and people from across Israel, this square became a center of solidarity, mutual responsibility and an unwavering demand: bring them all home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis square will remain a testament to the families, to their struggle and to the commitment never to give up on anyone. We will not allow this story to be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
The square may now be permanent, but Google has yet to get the memo: as of Thursday, its Maps listing marked Hostages Square as \u201cpermanently closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geller said the square remains a difficult place to visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI struggle to return there \u2013 even when I\u2019m just going to the art museum \u2013 because it always brings up the emotion that was held there,\u201d she said. \u201cFor me, it will always be Hostages Square.\u201d<\/p>\n