Bereaved mothers Laly Dery and Ofra Lax voiced objections to a Channel 12 News report claiming that all hostage families, families in Gaza, and bereaved families back a plan to shut down Israel’s economy this coming Sunday.
In a post on the network’s official account, Channel 12 News stated: “The families of the hostages and the bereaved families declared: ‘On August 17, we will shut down the country for the sake of the soldiers and hostages.’”
Dery, whose son Saadia fell in battle in Gaza, clarified: “Our family has not declared any strike. I assume we are not the only ones.”
Lax, whose son Nave, a soldier in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, was killed on October 7, wrote: “Please correct this – families of hostages and bereaved families, not the families of the hostages nor the bereaved families. It is simply not correct – grammatically and factually. Thank you.”
Earlier, Yossi Cohen – whose son Amit was murdered on October 7 at the Nova music festival – expressed sharp criticism in an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News toward the “October Council,” which is leading the call to halt economic activity in protest for the hostages’ release.
Cohen alleged that some among the hostage families, particularly within the October Council, were acting out of political motives rather than genuine concern. “This is not a legitimate strike,” he said. “This is a political strike aimed at causing chaos in the country and Israeli society.”
He argued the action would not achieve its stated goal. “Will this strike bring back the hostages? No. It will only harm Israeli citizens and, in the end, also the hostages themselves.”
Cohen accused the strike organizers of betraying those they claim to represent. “Everything is connected to Kaplan [protests]. I am not afraid of them; I say what I think.”
He stressed his belief that only military action can secure the hostages’ release. “There have been release deals only because of military pressure that led Hamas to wave a white flag.”