Hostage parents blast Israel’s lead negotiator Dermer after tense meeting & estimation that hostage return could take up to 6 months

Families of Israeli hostages said they were “furious and humiliated” in a letter addressed to Israel’s lead negotiator and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, following a meeting with him on Wednesday.

Many family members of the hostages have criticized the government for failing to meet with them in person frequently throughout the war.

However, Tzvika Mor, father of hostage Eitan Mor, and Ditza Or, mother of Hamas captive Avinatan Or, said they were even more disappointed after meeting Dermer.

In their letter, Mor and Or complained that Dermer opened the meeting without asking why they had requested it, instead launching into a detailed explanation of Israel’s actions during the war without letting them get a word in.

“We left the meeting with you furious, humiliated, confused and exhausted. You poured out tons of details that we have no interest in, and there is no chance we will remember them. Especially, in light of our very unstable mental state.”

“The choice of this strategy (and you are not the first to take it) expresses deep disrespect toward us as people, as heartbroken parents,” they wrote.

Several hours after the letter was published, Hamas officially rejected the latest hostage deal proposal, which would have secured the release of only 10 or 11 of the approximately 24 hostages believed to still be alive.

Mor and Or are both members of the Tikva Forum, a group of hostage families known for its more hawkish stance compared to the larger Hostages and Missing Families Forum. They advocated for a comprehensive deal to free all hostages at once, rather than a phased release over multiple stages.

they left the meeting convinced that the government plans to secure the release of only a small group of hostages in a potential deal, with no clear strategy for rescuing the others.

“Whoever does not come out [of Gaza] in the current small group is abandoned to their fate in the depths of hell. We did not understand from you any operative proposal that will succeed in returning them home, or when. At our request, you gave an estimated timeframe of 3-6 months, but without a plan of action,” they wrote.

“Our loved ones are abandoned in hell and will patiently and politely wait until their bitter end. We again warn you not to dare discriminate between blood, to prioritize the lives of selected hostages at the price of others’ lives. You have no right to surrender or give up on our loved ones’ lives. Only everyone [all the captives] together.”

Responding to the letter, the Hostages and Missing Family Forum slammed Dermer for estimating that it could take up to half a year to bring the hostages home.

“Vacate your position and let someone else bring about an agreement that will return everyone in one fell swoop and immediately,” the forum stated.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the families of five hostages in Jerusalem, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Netanyahu spoke with the relatives of David and Ariel Cunio, Nimrod Cohen, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, who are all believed to be alive in Hamas captivity.

The prime minister described to the families “the various efforts being made to bring the hostages home, and emphasized both his personal commitment and that of the Israeli government to securing the return of all the hostages – both the living and the fallen,” the PMO stated.