Grief and Anger: Israel's Hostage Crisis Sparks National Protests

Gil Dickmann, devastated by the murder of his cousin Carmel Gat, rallies for the release of Israeli hostages. Gat, killed just before Israeli forces could rescue her, was one of several hostages whose deaths have spurred national outrage and demands for a hostage deal. Dickmann has become a prominent advocate for their cause, criticizing military strategies and pushing for political action.

Gil Dickmann's worst nightmare came true when he learned that his cousin Carmel Gat, who had survived 11 months in Hamas captivity, was killed in a Gaza tunnel just before Israeli forces arrived. "She was so close to hugging her father," Dickmann, 32, told Reuters outside the Israeli Knesset, where he was lobbying lawmakers to secure the hostages' release. "We failed as a country, we failed as a community," he lamented.

Gat's body and those of five fellow hostages were recovered by Israeli troops on Sept 1, setting off a wave of grief and mass protests among Israelis demanding a hostage deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that increased military pressure would eventually bring the hostages home.

An autopsy revealed that Gat and the other five hostages had been shot in the back of the head at close range, less than 48 hours before Israeli forces discovered the bodies in a Gaza tunnel. "Military pressure kills the hostages," said Dickmann. "We know that for a fact." Hamas has countered by blaming Israel and Netanyahu for the killings, either directly or by obstructing ceasefire agreements.

(With inputs from agencies.)