Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Families of Israelis held by Hamas march towards Gaza

Past governments’ claims that attempts were made to secure the return of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, as well as the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, are “the biggest bluff,” says Goldin’s brother.

The family of Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held captive by Hamas in Gaza since 2014, address supporters during a protest march to the Gaza border, July 29, 2022. Source: Twitter.
The family of Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held captive by Hamas in Gaza since 2014, address supporters during a protest march to the Gaza border, July 29, 2022. Source: Twitter.

The families of Israeli soldiers whose bodies are being held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as relatives of an Israeli civilian being held hostage by the terror group, began a protest march towards the Gaza border on Wednesday.

Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul fell during “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014, and their bodies have been held as bargaining chips by the terror group ever since. Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed are Israeli civilians who were detained by Hamas after crossing into Gaza from Israel voluntarily, in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

The Goldin family initiated the march, which set out from their home in Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv, Walla reported. The marchers are calling on the Israeli government to secure the release of Mengistu and al-Sayed, along with their sons’ bodies.

The march is expected to last three days, with marchers due to reach the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, unless security arrangements prevent them from doing so.

“The biggest bluff of the past governments has been telling the public that there are attempts to return the captives. There are no attempts to return the captives,” stated Tzur Goldin, Hadar’s brother.

On June 30, the Hamas terror group released a video showing Hisham al-Sayed lying in a bed and receiving oxygen.

Sam Husseini has repeatedly accused Rep. Glenn Ivey of enabling “imperial” Israel’s war against Hamas through his support for U.S. military aid to Jerusalem.
Lior Auvgang told UJA young leaders that “they tried to destroy us. They did not.
“Jewish law requires Jews to provide for their own security, and that means carrying firearms when necessary,” a plaintiff in the lawsuit told JNS. “I wish it weren’t necessary, but it is and we must.”
“Disagreement with instructional judgment alone does not establish discrimination or harassment,” the Campbell Union High School District found.
“Those who provide financial services, logistics, or commercial support to the IRGC or Mahan Air are helping sustain a terrorist enterprise,” the U.S. treasury secretary said.
There is “a growing recognition of the definition, and its 11 contemporary examples, as the global gold standard for understanding how antisemitism manifests in today’s world,” Barney Breen-Portnoy of the Combat Antisemitism Movement told JNS.