Relatives of Israeli civilians taken hostage by Hamas during its October 7th terrorist attack made a strong plea to the German government to step up its efforts in securing their release.
By way of a high-profile leaflet campaign in the German capital of Berlin, on the attack’s 6-month anniversary and despite a decrease in media attention paid to their plight, relatives sought to remind the world that their loved ones are still languishing in Gaza.
From a hot air balloon, hundreds of pictures of the hostages were dropped, accompanied by the message “Bring them home.” The relatives had also set up a large hourglass in Berlin’s governmental district with the inscription: “Time is running out.”
It is the organizers’ wish that the German government heed their call and use its diplomatic weight to pressure Qatar into telling Hamas to release the hostages.
Since Germany dropped Russia as its primary energy partner, it turned to Qatar for its natural gas imports. It is these excellent relations in terms of trade, which extends to various other fields, that the relatives hope Berlin might use as leverage to more aggressively pursue securing the hostages’ freedom.
Speaking to Frankfurter Rundschau, Melody Sucharewicz, who is heading the relatives’ campaign in Germany, said that not only Qatar but also Egypt and Turkey have influence over Hamas—all countries with which Germany maintains close relations.
“Qatar has billion-dollar investments in major German companies, the relationships are very close, there are gas agreements,” she said. “And so it is natural for Germany to use precisely this close relationship, which is also based on interests, to exert pressure.”
“We are here to remind people that we are still waiting for my sister Carmel to come home from Gaza, because they are running out of time,” said Alon Gat. His 39-year-old sister was abducted from Kibbutz Beeri near the border with the Gaza Strip—along with Alon Gat himself, his wife Yarden Roman-Gat, and their three-year-old daughter. Alon Gat managed to escape with his child, while his wife was released after 54 days as part of a trade where innocent hostages held by Hamas were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Those who were released told of Carmel Gat, a behavioral therapist, taking care of the other prisoners as she organized yoga classes, her brother said. Her current whereabouts are unknown. “We are worried about her mental and physical health, especially after hearing about the rapes that are going on,” the brother said. “We have to convince everyone that we have to get people out of this hell.”
Similar commemorations took place in various European capitals, including Rome and Paris. At the Vatican, Pope Francis held a private audience with relatives on Monday, the second of its kind since the October 7th attack.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry had announced the meeting in advance. On X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Sunday that the pontiff’s support “carries great weight and I am convinced that it will contribute to the return of the abductees to their homeland.”
During the October 7th attack, Hamas, designated by the EU as a terrorist organization, not only murdered approximately 1,200 people but also kidnapped around 230, among them women and children.
While 105 of these were released after almost two months as part of an Israel-Hamas agreement (following earlier, smaller successes), the fate of the remaining hostages is unclear.
According to Israel, about 130 hostages remain unaccounted for, with at least 34 of them being presumed dead.
