Hostage Families Accuse Netanyahu of Using Deaths for Election Campaign

Families of hostages who were killed in captivity have penned an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party, demanding they cease using the phrase "we returned everyone" in their election campaign. The families argue that this slogan erases the distinction between those who returned alive and those who did not, and attempts to turn their loved ones' deaths into a political success story.

"You did not return our loved ones. Their bodies returned in coffins," the families stated, emphasizing that no election campaign can erase this fact. They accused the government of trying to gain political capital from the deaths of their relatives and urged them to stop using the deceased for election propaganda, especially when seeking another term in office.

The families called for accountability, suggesting that the appropriate action would be to apologize, accept responsibility, establish a state inquiry commission, and step down from public life, as some security officials have done. They criticized the government for attempting to cover up the failures of October 7th and rewrite history.

In response to the Likud campaign, families of six hostages murdered in Rafah launched their own campaign titled "We did not return home!" featuring billboards with their faces. Michal Lubnov, wife of Alex Lubnov who was killed in captivity, shared his final message from Hamas tunnels: "I left a wife pregnant, a two-year-old child, and sick parents at home. Help them shout my cry. Do everything so we get out of here alive."

Nira Sarusi, mother of Almog Sarusi, directly addressed Netanyahu, questioning his use of "we returned" when her son and others were returned dead. She recounted testimonies of severe abuse Almog allegedly suffered in Hamas captivity, including being tied to a bed and denied water for days. The letter was signed by numerous families of hostages who were abducted alive and did not return alive, highlighting the failure to protect them and the political exploitation of their deaths.