The families of hostages held in Gaza and their supporters were to set gather in Tel Aviv and elsewhere across Israel on Saturday for the weekly rallies urging the captives’ release, with this week’s demonstrations coinciding with the second birthday of Kfir Bibas, the youngest Israeli kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.

This week’s rallies will also be held the day before the slated start of a multiphase hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, with the first of three captives due to be freed on Sunday after the government formally approved the deal early Saturday morning.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organizer of the rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, issued a statement urging Israelis to attend the rally.

“An entire nation is waiting to see all the hostages come home. The current agreement must only end with the release of the all hostages, in a manner and date known in advance,” the statement from the group said.

Among the speakers scheduled to address the rally were former hostage Amit Soussana, who was returned from Gaza in November 2023 during a weeklong truce deal, and the relatives of several captives, including Ofri Bibas Levy, the aunt of Kfir Bibas.

Bibas Levy is the sister of Yarden Bibas, who was taken hostage separately from Kfir, who was abducted along with his brother Ariel and mother Shiri.

The Bibas family is among the highest-profile hostages still held in Gaza. Ariel, 4 years old........

© The Times of Israel