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Hostage deal raises question of who will be released, and who stays

Tikva Forum: "No Blood is More Valuable Than Another"

The Tikva Forum, representing families of hostages held in Gaza, has called on the Israeli government not to agree to a partial deal regarding the release of hostages. Their statement follows the release of a video showing hostage Matan Zangauker alive.

Families attend the funeral of slain hostage Eden Yerushalmi at a cemetery in Petach Tikva, September 1, 2024
Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90

In their response, the Forum emphasized that the proposed ceasefire-prisoner swap, which would free some hostages while leaving others behind, is unacceptable. "We will not be silent, and we will not rest, until all our sons come home—both the living and the deceased," they declared.

The families sharply criticized the plan, which involves staged releases over weeks or months. "How can we accept this?" they asked. "How can we decide who deserves life and who should remain in hell?" The Forum insisted that no distinction should be made between the hostages. "Anyone left out of the first deal may remain behind. Our silence will echo their screams."

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Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the decision-making leadership, the families said, "Do not turn us into a nation that abandons its children. Every hostage is an entire world. A partial deal is a moral disgrace that will haunt us for generations."

They warned, "Those who agree to such a deal will bear the responsibility for abandoning the hostages, and their conscience will forever carry that burden."

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