Israel News, Wednesday, 28.05.2025  
  Speaking in Hostage Square Wednesday, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released from Hamas captivity herself and whose partner Matan Zangauker is still languishing in Gaza, said she had a question for Netanyahu: ‘Why does the American administration care more for Israeli citizens than you do?’  Allison Kaplan Sommer

 Somber, sad and angry, hostage families and their supporters gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square Wednesday to mark yet another terrible milestone in their tragedy – 600 days since October 7, the morning the unthinkable happened.

For the families of the 58 hostages remaining in Gaza, living and deceased, every moment of the 14,400 hours, 864,000 minutes, 51,840,000 seconds comprising 600 days of war has been tortuous.

The 600-day anniversary comes at a particularly painful moment: an unprecedented low in the effort to bring the remaining hostages home, with a total stalemate in negotiations and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s determination to continue this “forever war” and inability to articulate any vision for a post-war Gaza.

Filling that vacuum is the fantasy of Netanyahu’s far-right ministers: demolishing Gaza, killing or expelling its residents and readying the Strip for Israeli resettlement.

The reason Netanyahu is enabling this fantasy and allowing it to move closer to reality is no secret. Ruling out a deal for a permanent cease-fire in exchange for the hostages is his lifeline for political survival as he evades accountability for October 7, offers a distraction from his ongoing criminal trial and the Qatargate investigation, and keeps the far-right parties securely in his coalition.

It is a perverse credit to the prime minister’s political skills that he has been able to keep this up for 600 days in direct opposition to the will of the majority of the Israeli people. Poll after poll shows a growing number of Israelis calling for an end to the war in exchange for the release of all hostages, and a growing belief that the war is continuing for political reasons, rather than for the country’s security.

And so Israel’s citizens watch with dismay as Israel’s diplomatic isolation grows, the casualty numbers in Gaza increase and the already-shocking humanitarian situation worsens. The “people’s army” is voting with its feet as increasing numbers of reserve soldiers do not report for duty.

The hostage families have valiantly fought and won the battle of Israeli public opinion. Still, after 600 days of fighting, they are losing the war to bring their loved ones home. Overwhelming public opinion means little to the current government.

In this depressing reality, it has become conventional wisdom among the hostage families that the White House is the only ray of hope.

Over the past 600 days, only a U.S. president – never an Israeli citizen – has ever convinced Netanyahu to make concessions resulting in a hostage returning home. In the case of the latest hostage release of Edan Alexander, there was no convincing involved – the Trump administration simply went behind Netanyahu’s back.

Speaking in Hostage Square Wednesday, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released from Hamas captivity herself and whose partner Matan Zangauker is still languishing in Gaza, said she had a question for Netanyahu: “Why does the American administration care more for Israeli citizens than you do?”

After 600 days of war with no end in sight, it is still a question without an answer.