Families of some of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza have sailed towards the Palestinian enclave on Thursday, in a desperate attempt to put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it contemplates expanding the war in Gaza.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, as well as the opposition and a large part of the Israeli public, are strongly against the expansion of the operation, arguing it would put their loved ones at even more risk.
As the flotilla set off from the port of Ashkelon in southern Israel, Lior Horev from the hostage families forum told CNN the sailing was “an SOS call.”
“Unfortunately, we cannot enter Gaza and get our loved ones back home, but…this is a mayday call to the Israeli government,” he said.
Israel’s security cabinet is convening on Thursday to vote on a full reoccupation of Gaza, a move that would mark a major escalation of the conflict after nearly two years of war in the territory.
At least 61,158 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war started after the Hamas-led October 7 terror attacks, the Ministry of Health there reported on Wednesday. The humanitarian situation has now become catastrophic, with at least 193 people having starved to death, including 96 children, according to the ministry.
Earlier this week, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had decided on a “full conquest” of Gaza.
“The decision of the cabinet to prolong the war will be a death sentence to those alive and will make it impossible to return those who have been murdered by Hamas and still are held in Gaza,” Horev said.
As the boats, adorned with Israeli flags and yellow ribbons and balloons symbolizing the efforts to save the hostages, sailed towards Gaza, some of those aboard used loudspeakers to deliver their message.
“We are closest to the hostages, at the maritime border with Gaza, so that they too can hear us and know that we are fighting with all our strength and will not give up until they return,” they said, according to a statement from the forum.
Hamas and its allies still hold 50 hostages in Gaza. The Israeli government believes at least 20 are alive, while 28 have been declared deceased.
Gaza has been completely cut off from the outside world both on land and at sea, with the Israeli military restricting traffic within miles of the perimeter, so the flotilla was not able to get anywhere close to the shore.
Standing on the deck of one of the boats, Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod Cohen has been held in captivity for 22 months, told CNN he also believes that continuing the war is “directly endangering”the hostages.
“We want it all to stop. We want the world to help us make Netanyahu stop it. We want to end the war and get a hostage deal,” Cohen told CNN.