US envoy Steve Witkoff met anguished relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza on Saturday, as fears for the captives' survival mounted almost 22 months into the war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

Witkoff was greeted with some applause and pleas for assistance from hundreds of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, before going into a closed meeting with the families.

Videos shared online showed Witkoff arriving to meet the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, as families chanted "Bring them home!" and "We need your help."

The meeting came one day after Witkoff visited a US-backed aid station in Gaza to inspect efforts to get food into the devastated Palestinian territory.

"The war needs to end," Yotam Cohen, brother of 21-year-old hostage Nimrod Cohen, told AFP.

"The Israeli government will not end it willingly. It has refused to do so," he added.

"The Israeli government must be stopped. For our sakes, for our soldiers' sakes, for our hostages' sakes, for our sons and for the future generations of everybody in the Middle East."

Of the 251 hostages taken during the Hamas attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military........

© Al Monitor