OPINION: Israel cannot begin to fully heal until our last hostage is home
Continued global solidarity with the hostages families offers sends them - and Hamas - a crucial message
Was this week happy? Yes. Was this week sad? Yes.
This week was everything at once. After two long years of anguish, the final twenty hostages came out alive. Their reunions filled the nation with tears of relief and gratitude. For the families who had prayed endlessly, these moments were the answer to every sleepless night.
Yet joy was mixed with heartbreak. Nine bodies were also returned, and 16 hostages remain in Gaza. The Israel Defence Forces believe Hamas knows the whereabouts of at least ten additional bodies and is deliberately withholding them. It is a cruel violation of the agreement and of the most basic human decency.
For two years, families and supporters around the world have fought for the return of every man, woman and child taken on October 7. We made a promise that all would come home. The return of twenty alive this week, as extraordinary as it is, cannot mark the end of this mission. Israel cannot begin to heal while any of its people are still held captive.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK has carried this struggle with dignity and determination. We matched families with communities, arranged hundreds of meetings with MPs and helped them share their stories in the media. We put their faces on walls and bridges, across motorways, and on LED screens that drove through our cities. We also organised countless community events, from talks and vigils to challah bakes, to bring people together in solidarity and hope.
The families are not demanding vengeance. They are demanding humanity. And they are not standing alone. From London to Los Angeles, from Johannesburg to Melbourne, Jewish communities have stood shoulder to shoulder with them. Every yellow ribbon, every vigil, every prayer and every rally tells the families that the Jewish people have not forgotten their children.
For the families, that solidarity is a lifeline. It is what gets them out of bed when hope feels too heavy to carry. It reminds them that their pain belongs to all of us.
When they see thousands in the streets, when they hear the names of their loved ones spoken on Shabbat tables or see ribbons tied around lampposts across the world, they know that the Jewish people are still holding them close.
This unity matters more than ever. It sends a clear message to Hamas and to the world that we do not abandon our own. It tells the families that while they wait for news, while they ache and plead for answers, they are surrounded by an entire people who will never give up on them.
It was a relief to see Galia and Evyatar David smile, and to watch Guy Gilboa Dalla eat his favourite dessert. At the same time, I could not stop thinking of Oz Daniels’ mother. Her son went to protect the country and the people he loved, and now she feels left behind. She still wakes up breathless, unable to mourn until she fulfils her duty to bring him home.
I also think of Omer Neutra’s aunt, Osnat, whom I met in June 2024. Since then, I have seen the endless sadness for her nephew who grew up in New York, loved basketball and was a natural leader. His parents, Ronen and Orna, flew from the United States hoping his body would finally be returned, only to face bitter disappointment once again.
I thought I would be closing the door on this chapter by now, returning the keys after two years of carrying the families’ pain and their voices. Instead, I see more clearly than ever how much our unity means. The families draw strength from every person who shows up, every candle lit, every voice that refuses to be silent.
We must keep advocating while there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Keep wearing your yellow pin. Keep sharing their stories. Keep saying their names:
Amiram Cooper
Arye Zalmanovich
Assaf Hamami
Dror Or
Hadar Goldin
Itay Chen
Joshua Loitu Mollel
Lior Rudaeff
Many Godard
Omer Neutra
Ran Gvili
Oz Daniel
Sahar Baruch
Sudthisak Rinthalak
Tal Haimi
Tamir Adar
Because when we stand together, we give the families the strength to stand too. And until we know that all the hostages who can be returned have come home, we will keep going.
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