By Liran Tamari, Lihi Gordon

Copyright ynetnews

Against the backdrop of dramatic reports of heavy strikes and tanks entering the heart of Gaza City, families of hostages launched a protest overnight between Monday and Tuesday outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Gaza Street in Jerusalem. Among those present were Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Ofir Breslavsky, father of Rom Anat Angrest, mother of kidnapped soldier Matan and Michel Illouz , father of slain hostage Guy. They were joined by former hostages Arbel Yehuod and Ilana Gritzewsky. Police blocked Gaza Street. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum responded, saying:, “The prime minister heard in the media about the families’ intention to protest near his home in Jerusalem and fled within minutes. The hostage families are calling on the people of Israel: Come, march with us to Jerusalem — we are saving the hostages.” Einav Zangauker declared outside Netanyahu’s home: “This street is closed. It is going to be boycotted by the hostage families. We will bring tents here. If Matan doesn’t return home, I have nothing left to lose.” She then addressed the prime minister’s wife: “Sara, come outside and tell me what you promised me. There are other fathers and mothers here — come out and tell us how you lied to my face and said you were going to bring an agreement and return everyone. Come out and tell me how you lied. You know how to meet families behind closed doors without media and sell them nonsense. Enough!” She continued: “I have one interest — that the country wakes up and brings back my son along with the other 47 hostages and the female hostage, alive and dead, and our soldiers who should come home. He didn’t like hearing us here, he ran away like a coward. We will chase him everywhere, day and night. Enough — the gloves are off. If he spares no means and sends our precious, brave, heroic soldiers to fight while our hostages are being used as human shields, then he is not a worthy prime minister.” Zangauker also addressed police on the scene: “Any security officer who comes near us should take into account that we will set ourselves on fire. I will burn myself!” Earlier, she had called on the public to join the protest, posting on X: “We hear the bombings on our children and we cannot sit at home. I am going now, together with other hostage families, to the prime minister’s residence — the one who decided to kill our children, our soldiers and reservists — the one who decided to sacrifice an entire nation for his political survival. We are going out to demand our children back through a comprehensive agreement and an end to the war. It cannot be that the lives of an entire nation hang in the hands of a man who has lost his sanity and values. We are fighting for life, for the fallen, for the entire country.” Anat Angrest, mother of kidnapped soldier Matan Angrest, later wrote on X: “My Matan is in the bombarded area. I will not allow this to be his last night. I am on my way to the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem. Come with me!” The Hostages Families’ Forum said Monday evening that the families “receive with great anxiety the reports about the intensified operation that began in Gaza City. Tonight — the 710th night in Gaza — may be the last night of life for hostages who are barely surviving and the last night in which it is possible to locate and return the remains of the dead for proper burial.” Palestinians reported heavy airstrikes Monday night around Gaza City, following days of high-rise demolitions and mass departures of hundreds of thousands of residents southward, as preparations for Operation Gideon’s Chariots II continue. According to reports, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a “belt of fire” in the city’s northwest alongside other airstrikes, with footage showing Gaza City’s skies lit orange by the bombardments. Tanks also were reported on al-Jalaa Street, in the city center, prompting a mass flight from the area. According to Palestinian footage, Israeli forces were seen firing flares and conducting artillery fire in northern Gaza. A Gaza report said that 37 strikes were carried out in just 20 minutes, some from attack helicopters. Around 10 p.m., loud explosions from the strikes were felt across central Israel and even in the Sharon region. Vicky Cohen, the mother of the kidnapped soldier Nimrod, addressed him in a moving post on the X network, as reports of the intense attacks began: “My child, I know that the bombings around you are shaking the tunnel you are in. I wish I could ask you to take care of yourself, but we both know that it is not in your control. I am sending you encouragement and asking you: Be strong. Don’t break down. Mom.” Lishi Miran-Lavie, the wife of the kidnapped Omri Miran, wrote: “Another suffocating night of uncertainty and heartbreak. Another night where I must stay strong despite everything. Omrily, I love you, I’m waiting for you, I’m fighting for you, I’m protecting our girls, continue to be the superhero that you are. Survive 💔🎗.”