In an open letter, the relatives objected to Netanyahu’s repeated assertion that his government had “brought everyone home.” They said the message obscured the difference between hostages released alive and those whose remains were eventually returned for burial.
The letter cited 46 people who, according to the families, were taken alive during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and died before returning to Israel. The relatives accused the government of failing to rescue some captives when opportunities existed and demanded accountability for the security failures surrounding the attack.
Among those backing the letter were relatives of Noa Marciano, Yagev Buchshtab, Carmel Gat, and Oded Lifshitz. Former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, whose husband Oded was killed in captivity, also joined the appeal.
A separate campaign launched Tuesday placed photographs of six hostages killed by Hamas in a Rafah tunnel in August 2024 on billboards along Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway and elsewhere. The display emphasized that their bodies had returned but they themselves had not survived.
The six were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino. All had been held for nearly 11 months before their deaths.
Netanyahu and Likud have emphasized the return of the hostages in their campaign, presenting it as an achievement of the government’s wartime policy. Supporters credit the government with securing releases and recovering remains.
The families called for an apology, a state commission of inquiry into October 7, and political accountability. They also urged Netanyahu and Likud officials to leave public office, accusing them of refusing to accept responsibility for the failures that preceded the abductions and continued throughout the hostages’ captivity.
