'Beg our government to stop war': Families of hostages take to Gaza border, plead for safe return of loved ones

The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, on Sunday (Apr 20), staged a protest near the border, calling for a deal to secure the release of the 59 hostages believed to still be in Hamas' captivity.

The families of the hostages used a stack of speakers pointed towards the besieged Palestinian enclave and shouted messages of love and support, holding onto the slim hope that their loved ones might hear them.

Hostage Bar Kupershtein's father, Tal Kupershtein, who struggled to speak due to a medical condition, also shouted the name of his son.

Banners featuring hostage Elkana Bohbot's picture conveyed a sense of urgency, coming just a day after Hamas released an undated and edited video of him, fueling concerns for his safety and the safety of other Israeli hostages.

Hostage Nimrod Cohen's mother, Vicky Cohen said that the families gathered at the border, beg the Israeli government to stop the war and bring the ones held captive home.

“I'm here in Kibbutz Nir Oz near the border of Gaza. To shout to Nimrod, maybe my voice will enter the tunnels and he will hear me. I want to tell him how much I love him and I miss him and we are waiting for him. We will do everything to bring him back home. I miss him so much and I feel so worried and upset to be here and to beg to our government to stop the war and to bring all of the hostages back home, this is what they need to do now,” Cohen said.

The families of hostages are gathered at the Gaza border, calling out to their loved ones who have been held captive by Hamas for 562 days.

Imagine how unbearably painful it must be to know your child is in hell, just a few hours away by car, yet you’re unable to go and bring… pic.twitter.com/PhlZNxzujn

Earlier, the parents of two hostages, on Tuesday (Apr 15), expressed their frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming that the Israeli Prime Minister wasn't doing enough to secure the release of their sons from Hamas' captivity. 

One father even compared Netanyahu's apparent lack of effort to the more emotionally invested approach of US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. 

Twenty-two-year-old soldier Matan Angrest was abducted from a burning tank while battling militants on October 7, 2023, whereas 24-year-old civilian musician Alon Ohel was kidnapped from the Nova music festival.

They have both been held captive by Hamas for nearly 500 days and were not released in previous sets of hostage releases.

Matan's mother, Anat Angrest, wore her son’s army uniform on Tuesday and said that "the prime minister of Israel isn’t fighting for him.”

“I’m wearing his uniform to call attention to the fact that the soldiers haven’t been included in any deal — neither the wounded soldiers nor the bodies of soldiers, including Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held there for 10 and a half years,” she said at a demonstration, according to The Times of Israel.

“We demand from the Israeli government that in the next release of hostages, the soldiers will be returned — not because of US citizenship,” she said, referring to soldier hostage Edan Alexander, who is a dual Israeli-American citizen, “but because of their blue-and-white citizenship. They belong in Israel and need to be returned here.”

Matan’s father, Hagai Angrest, compared US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff's reaction to that of Netanyahu, saying that the Donald Trump adviser "cried" on watching the video of lynching that Matan went through on the day he was abducted.

“He cried when I showed him the video of the lynching that Matan went through on the day of his abduction,” Hagai said, referring to Witkoff.

“We know that Matan has also gone through aggressive interrogations, with electric shocks, but when we spoke with Netanyahu, he didn’t even know that Matan was wounded,” he said.