“Hamas shot and kidnapped my brother, but we must make peace with the Palestinians”

Families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza made emotional calls for a deal to bring them home at an event in London on Thursday, as hopes of a deal faded.

Relatives of nine hostages, including the mother of a soldier confirmed dead by Israel, spoke at the Israeli embassy in Kensington, surrounded by photos of captives who were about to enter Gaza for six months.

Yehuda Cohen, whose 19-year-old son Nimrod was kidnapped at the Nova music festival on October 7, said: “We want everything to be done to get the hostages released.”

“Whatever deal is reached is the government’s responsibility. They should do that and make sure everyone goes home.”

Few people have received information about the condition of their loved ones. “The government didn’t tell us anything because they didn’t know,” said Inbal Zak, whose cousin Tal Shoham was taken from Kibbutz Beeri. “We need symbols [proof] life”.

Some heard snippets from hostages who were released in a swap deal last November, such as reports that a cousin continued to practice yoga while in captivity.

Michal Cohen (no relation to Yehuda), 17, heard that her brother Elia, 27, was still alive but had a gunshot wound in the leg from her fiancée Ziv, who was attending the Nova festival with him , and escaped by hiding under the corpse. The family also believes they saw Eliya’s photo on the Hamas Telegram channel.

Ms Cohen told reporters: “He’s a very strong, happy man so we really believe he’s going to be OK.” I. “Even if his leg was injured and he went into anaphylactic shock, it would still be dangerous.”

The teenager has been campaigning on hostage and missing family forums in Israel and abroad to secure her brother’s release and hold her government and Hamas accountable.

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“I think the government can do more,” she said. “They don’t want to release some [Palestinian] Prisoners for hostages, I think we need to do that…The deal between the government and Hamas is failing, partly because of Hamas and partly because of our government. “

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are underway, but mediators played down hopes of a quick deal on Thursday. The two sides disagree over the length of the ceasefire – Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire but Israel says it will not accept it – and which Palestinian prisoners should be released in exchange for Israeli hostages.

Israel also claims that Hamas has not handed over a list of prisoners still alive, with dozens believed to have died in captivity.

Ms Cohen believes the fate of hostages such as her brother is “not the most important thing” to her government. She added that authorities were also slow to provide support to the hostages’ families, although the state was now offering counseling services.

The brutality of this phase of the conflict, which began with the deaths of more than 1,000 Israelis and later led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, did not make the teenager hate the people on the other side of the border.

Conflicts can be resolved, she said. “Both sides need to give something up because if Israel wants everything and the Palestinians want everything, we will never solve this problem.

“During this war, I recognized a lot of the strengths and weaknesses of the Palestinians, and I think they recognized some of the things about us.”

But she added that “controllers on both sides” were not learning.