Thousands rally in Tel Aviv demanding hostage deal

Yeela continued, her voice shaking with emotion: “I’m tired of repeating this, but we call on the Israeli government, the people of Israel, the nations of the world and the president of the United States: do everything to save Evyatar, Guy and the rest of the living hostages from death. Make sure they receive medical care and food—now.”

Directing her words to her brother, she added: “Evyatar, my dear brother, Ilai, Mom, Dad and I love you so much and we’re torn apart by longing. Mom is broken, she can’t function. Dad hears your voice at night and can’t sleep. But Ilai and I are trying to hold it together. We are waiting for you. Waiting to heal with you. You will come back—I promise you.”

Her brother Ilai followed with a speech in English, urging global action: “There is no limit to the cruelty being inflicted on him and the others. And there is no end to the unbearable pain of our family. We cry. We suffer. But hear me—we refuse to give up.”

“To world leaders, and to every human watching this: please, I beg you—act now. Before it’s too late.”

“Really? A sign of life? How dare we even call it that,” he said, his voice rising with anger. “What we saw yesterday—those aren’t the signs of life. I was warned it would be hard to watch. But I thought, I’ve lived that, I’ve seen Evyatar, Guy and Tal wasting away. It won’t shake me like it does others.”

But it did. “The first thing I looked for were his eyes,” Wenkert said. “It was a video with no real words, but Evyatar didn’t need to say anything. His eyes told me everything—he was hurting, hungry, exhausted, weak inside and out, overcome with endless longing, and worst of all, paralyzed by the fear of being abandoned. I could see it: ‘Omer, help me. I’m alone.’ Abandoned. Abandoned without compassion, without warmth, without love or a kind word. No one caring for him. And I thought: are they even checking on him? Are they feeding him? Why does he look so utterly forsaken?”

His sadness quickly turned to fury. “I’m tired of seeing these images, of thinking these thoughts. I know they have food. I smelled it every day while I was given two spoonfuls of rice. They have everything. So why? Why won’t they give it to him? Stop lying to Evyatar. Feed him. It’s cruelty beyond words.”

He said he rewatched the video and something shifted. “That’s when I understood the depth of this pain—it’s not just longing. It’s a need. Not a cliché, not a slogan chanted while waving flags. Yesterday, my family—my parents, my younger siblings, my partner—met a version of me I never wanted them to see: ‘Omer Wenkert, hostage edition.’ Emotionally numb, filled with rage, eyes cold and empty. A volcano of anger sealed off by an immovable boulder. The survival mode returned. My partner said, ‘Omer, I’m worried—you look like you did at the hospital two days after your release.’”

“In one moment, I was back there—with Evyatar and Guy. The mattress, the spoon, the plate I ate from. I know it sounds strange, but I saw a home. A horrible one. But we lived human lives in the most inhuman way. We were still people. We were a family. Now? In Evyatar’s eyes, I saw it. He’s forgetting that that wasn’t a real home. He’s forgetting what a real home is. So I went back there—to be with them.”

Choking back tears, he added, “Then I broke down. I realized that as long as they’re still in Gaza—I’ll never really leave. Just like yesterday, it will happen again. I’ll be pulled back in.”

“Enough. Enough. Enough!” he cried. “Look at Evyatar. His eyes tell our entire story—a cry for help. Just help! That’s what we all feel inside. So please—help him. Help him. Reach out to Evyatar, to Guy, to all of them. Don’t let them keep feeling abandoned.”

“Give me just 50 more heartbeats so I can feel alive again,” he pleaded. “Bring them all home—now.”

Ofir Braslavski, father of hostage Rom Braslavski, delivered an emotional address condemning the Israeli government for failing to secure his son’s release.

“My son Rom has been in Gaza for 666 days. He is a hero—and his country has abandoned him,” Braslavski said. “He is being abandoned every single day he’s not here. Two days ago, we all saw the price of that abandonment. I looked at my son and didn’t recognize him. Rom is starving for bread, thirsty for water, sick, physically broken and mentally crushed. My child is dying—I saw it with my own eyes, and so did the prime minister. He knows Rom’s condition. And yet he chooses, again and again, not to save him.”

Braslavski said PIJ, the group believed to be holding his son, had lost contact with the unit guarding him. “Ten days ago, we—the parents of Rom—moved from one circle of hell to another,” he said.

Demonstrations calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza were held across the country Saturday night, including the weekly rally in Sha’ar HaNegev, a protest at the Karkur Junction and a gathering in Kfar Saba.

In the video, dated July 27, David says he sometimes goes days without eating. In a particularly disturbing moment, he is seen digging what he describes as his own grave inside a tunnel. “Every day that passes, my body gets weaker and thinner,” he says. “I am on my way to my death. I am digging my own grave where I might lie. Only you can stop this, so I can lie in a bed in my home.”