Former Israeli hostage Maksim Horkin addresses Tel Aviv Rally: 'I’m hugging you from here, from the stage'

The Hostages’ Families Forum held a hostage rally this Saturday evening at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, calling to bring back “everyone, all of them.” In addition to the rally in Tel Aviv, others were held in Jerusalem, the Sha’ar HaNegev junction, and Karmey Gat.

Former hostage Maksim Horkin on stage in Tel Aviv: “We’ve come a long way, and we still have a little more to go. And we will give all our strength and reach the finish line – we’ll bring all our hostages home.”

“When I was sitting in the tunnels there, and I saw this stage, I said one simple thing: if I could physically stand here and hug all eight million of you – however many we have – and just say thank you, I would do it. So I am hugging you from here, from the stage. I owe you my life.”

Former hostage Guy Galboa Dalal said, “I stand here today after two hard and long years that felt like an eternity. Two years of darkness, longing, and fear – but also hope that I refused to give up on. That hope came from you – before I was taken down to the tunnels, I saw photos from the square. You gave me hope and strength, the people of Israel who don’t forget their brothers left behind – thank you.”

Dalal added, “We will not forget for a moment the three hostages still in Gaza – Ran, Dror, and Suttisak. Their families, and all the people of Israel, are waiting for you. The mission is not complete until they all return, until the last hostage is home.”

Former hostages Gali and Ziv Berman said, “Thank you for every Saturday in which you carried our names. Thank you for every moment in which your voice was our voice – when we could not speak it ourselves. You, residents of the Gaza border communities, who endured loss and pain beyond comprehension – and yet still found within you the strength to hold on, to unite, to embrace, to support. This is not just a community – it is a family. Our return is a result of sacrifice, courageous perseverance, and a sense of responsibility that cannot be taken for granted. We do not forget this for a moment.”

“We stand here as people who have returned from captivity – from darkness, from the deepest fears. The road to recovery is still long, but our very presence here, before you, is proof of the strength we have as a people and as a council. And now, after we have returned, we understand the commitment born within us: to continue being the voice of those who have not yet made it back. Until the last hostage returns home.”

Rubi Chen, father of the fallen soldier who was returned from Gaza, Staff Sergeant Itai Chen, also spoke, “You in the crowd, and at rallies across the country, forced the Israeli government to understand that its mission is not only to protect its citizens but also to bring its citizens back from captivity – some for rehabilitation, and some for honorable burial. As time went on, the fear grew that the fallen hostages, who are the most helpless, would not return – and here is where the power of civil society was measured, and the pressure that you managed to place on elected officials to understand how crucial it is to bring back its fallen.”

He added, “In closing, I want to ask forgiveness from my son and the other hostages – it took two years to bring you home. And we will reckon with those who say that it was impossible to bring you back earlier, and those because of whom 46 hostages were murdered in captivity. It is possible and necessary to build something different here, and I will be here to ensure that it happens – so that the sacrifice of my son and the other heroes here is not in vain. We are here, and we will not give up until the last hostage is returned.”