In Lisbon, during a press conference, two parents, two siblings, and a friend of three hostages kidnapped in Israel on October 7, 2023, by the Islamist group Hamas, still held in Gaza, made a call for assistance to recover their relatives and highlighted that they are dealing with a terrorist organization.
“I am here because I want to tell the people of Portugal that you have a citizen held in Gaza,” stated Eli Shtivi, the father of Idan Shtivi, a 28-year-old amateur photographer who was kidnapped and is likely deceased.
“You have to do something for him. He is a good person, a good student, who wanted to make the world a better place. You need to wake up now and stop Hamas,” urged Idan’s father, visibly emotional while showing a video depicting militants firing at the vehicle where Idan and some friends were traveling when they were stopped and pursued.
“I appeal to the Jewish community and all communities to demand the return [of the hostages],” he implored, arguing that the situation “must be on the agenda of all Portuguese political parties.”
“You have an election in two weeks; this must be discussed. You cannot have a Portuguese citizen in terrorist tunnels,” he stressed.
He reiterated, “Today it is us; tomorrow it could be you.”
Alon Nimrodi, father of another Israeli hostage, highlighted that his son is a European citizen, noting that Tamir, at 18 years of age, is a German citizen.
“My son was 18 when he was kidnapped, he was military but not a combatant, and he was teaching in the army,” he began to recount.
He explained that his son was kidnapped along with two friends, and his family is the only one in Israel without any indication regarding the state of this hostage.
Assuring that Tamir Nimrodi “was a person who helped the people of Gaza” before the war began, he mentioned that this demonstrates how “Hamas does not care for their own citizens [Palestinians].”
Alon Nimrodi, like all family members present at the press conference, refrained from giving his opinion on the actions of the Israeli Government, both concerning the hostages and the intensification of the war in Gaza, claiming he is “neither a politician nor a military man, just simple people.”
Nonetheless, he considered that the only way to recover the 59 Israelis still held by Hamas is “to reach an agreement” and admitted that a ceasefire “might be good to get the hostages back.”
When questioned about whether he believes that, even if the war ends, Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace, Nimrodi, the most fluent in English and therefore the relative questioned most frequently, admitted he does not believe in peace with Hamas.
“I have nothing against Muslims,” he assured, pointing to the brother of one of the hostages (a Muslim named Muhammad Al Atrash), declaring that he is “his ‘brother’ too.”
For Nimrodi, the problem lies with “the terrorists,” whom he believes have cells in all countries waiting for the moment to “awaken.”
“We [Israel] are the barrier between Europe and terrorism,” he stated.
Salem al Atrash, the brother of Muhammad, also assured that the issue is not religious, nor does it oppose Jews and Muslims.
“This is not how Islam acts,” he said, referring to the actions of the radical Palestinian group Hamas.
“This is the way ISIS [the English acronym for the terrorist group Islamic State] acts,” he emphasized.
Salem, who already knows his brother is deceased, further requested that all possible pressure be applied to return the 59 individuals still held by the Palestinian Islamist group to their families.
“There are people trapped in tunnels, starving. The longer it takes, the more difficult it will be for them to return alive, but it’s also necessary to hand over the deceased to their families,” he argued.
The issue of hostages has been one of the critical points leading to accusations against the Israeli government in recent days.
On Monday, the Forum of Families, an association of relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, accused the Israeli government of willing to sacrifice the hostages after approving an expansion of the Israeli offensive in Palestinian territory.
This plan is named “the Smotrich-Netanyahu plan” because it “sacrifices hostages,” said the Forum in a statement, referring to the influence of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (far-right) in the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The government admitted it prefers to capture territory rather than rescue hostages, against the wishes of more than 70% of the population,” the association added.
Israel’s security cabinet approved between Sunday night and Monday the expansion of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, including “conquering the Gaza Strip,” controlling territories in the enclave, and promoting the “voluntary departure of Gaza residents” from Palestinian territory, according to an Israeli official source.
The Israeli Prime Minister “continues to promote the [U.S. President Donald] Trump plan to allow the voluntary departure of Gaza residents, and negotiations on this subject continue,” the same source stated.
“The government also approved, by a large majority, the possibility of distributing [aid] humanitarian, if necessary, to prevent Hamas from taking control of the supplies,” it explained.
The Israeli plan, which according to the same official source, will be implemented gradually, might mark a significant escalation in the fighting in Gaza, which resumed on March 18, after Israel broke the ceasefire that had been established between the parties.
An Israeli official, cited by the French news agency AFP, noted that Israel will leave, until mid-May, “a window” open to allow negotiations for the release of the hostages seized by Hamas.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel claims that 59 hostages remain in Gaza, although approximately 35 are believed to be deceased.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their counts.
The fighting has displaced more than 90% of Gaza’s population, sometimes more than once, rendering Gaza uninhabitable, with almost all infrastructure destroyed.
