Rubi Chen, whose son Itai was murdered and kidnapped on October 7 and is held by Hamas, said at the Hostages Square: “In the first days, we stood here in shock and fear in the face of the terrible disaster that happened to us. Today I am happy for my brothers and sisters who will embrace their loved ones, but I want to share another feeling – of a 20-ton hammer falling on you with the acceptance of the reality of losing a son. This is a feeling that I and 27 other families of the fallen share with almost 2,000 heroic families. Please promise us that you won’t forget the families of hostages who may not receive their loved ones and continue to fight with me and others until the return of the last hostage and keep coming to the square to strengthen us. This time we won’t let the war end like Operation Protective Edge, when the Israeli government decided it wasn’t necessary to fight for the kidnapped soldiers and fallen who were left behind.”
