The Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Sunday said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch used his position as coordinator for the captives and missing to threaten them into not speaking out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The statement, published in a public letter directed towards Hirsch, criticized his treatment of the families and demanded that he “remain silent forever.”
The letter added that Hirsch's recent statements during several interviews against hostages' families were "a continuation of his abuses."
They accused Hirsch of not demanding the return of the hostages as a “supreme goal,” saying that because of that, the “surviving hostages suffered prolonged tortures.”
The letter also accused Hirsch of being complicit in “the death of 46 hostages that could have returned alive but were killed in captivity by Hamas or a lack of medical care.”
“We demand that Hirsch, who is now clearly nothing more than a political element seeking protection in the party ahead of the elections, immediately resign from his position,” the letter concluded.
Several key actors in the Hostage and Missing Families Forum signed the letter, including Einav Zangauker, mother of freed hostage Matan Zangauker; Lishay Miran-Lavi, wife of freed hostage Omri Miran; Bar Godard, daughter of fallen hostage Meny Godard; and Ofri Bibas, sister of Yarden Bibas, among others.
Former hostage Or Levy calls out Hirsch
In a separate statement, former hostage Or Levy, who was freed on February 8, 2025, also slammed Hirsch for his recent interviews.
“Of course you will say that Hamas wanted to negotiate for 10 years, of course you will say that you are not guilty. Of course, you will try to paint a picture that you brought everyone back (yes, because bodies count the same),” he posted on Facebook.
He also added, “Gal Hirsch, shame on you! Who are you to talk about our families? Who are you to say anything to my 70-year-old parents, who had to tell their two-year-old baby that their mother was murdered and their father "was lost"? Who are you to say anything to the bereaved parents who could have had their children alive, but because of the delay in the negotiations, they lost their lives?”
“There is no minimum respect in Israeli politics, and apparently looking for honesty and goodness in this place is like looking for 251 hostages in Gaza,” Levy concluded.