The campaign entitled “We must bring the grandparents home together with all the captives,” will run on social media in Israel and around the world. It calls for the elderly civilians and grandparents who were taken captive by Hamas to be returned home to their families. The video campaign features a collection of photos of grandparents with their families and highlights the important role that the elderly play in society. Over 230 Israeli civilians were taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 massacre, 36 of whom are elderly. Matav’s Association CEO, Lior Strasberg stated, “The thought that there are elderly people in captivity is intolerable and as an organization dealing with elderly people’s wellness we felt a moral obligation to draw attention to this along with the call of course to return them all.” Two elderly Israeli hostages, Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, were released on October 23 for what Hamas claimed were “humanitarian reasons”.
