Some 100 hostages who have returned from Gaza captivity, along with families of hostages, sent a letter on Wednesday to Transportation Minister Miri Regev calling on her not to use in the October 7 ceremony information or images in which the hostages appear.
‘A cynical use of the names of the hostages’
“It cannot be that in this period, when the state’s resources are supposed to be invested in the return of the 108 hostages, as well as in the protection of the Gaza border communities and the North, in the concern for the many evacuees and all the affected citizens, resources are invested in a ceremony conducted by those who, through their oversight, have led to the unfortunate situation in which we find ourselves,” the letter read.
“The returned hostages, relatives of hostages, and the murdered hostages will not lend a hand to the cynical use of the names of the hostages, that the country has abandoned for almost a year, or in the names of their relatives who were murdered in the October 7 massacre,” the missive added.
The letter then asked that the names of the released hostages, the hostages still detained in Gaza captivity, and their relatives should not be used in the ceremony.
The signees also requested that the government reconsider holding the ceremony in addition to its being conducted under the government, which they said should focus instead on returning the hostages.
The government received much criticism after it transferred the ceremony to Regev’s responsibility. It is set to be held to commemorate a year since the event.
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.