The relatives of hostages abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip are urging Germany to do more to secure their release with a demonstration in Berlin, six months after the attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas.
As part of their campaign they dropped hundreds of pictures of the hostages from a balloon 150 metres above the centre of the capital, with the written demand "Bring them home."
They also set up an oversized hourglass between the Chancellery and the Bundestag with the inscription "Time is running out."
"We are here to remind the people that we are still waiting for my sister Carmel, who is still in Gaza, to come home, because they don’t have more time," said Alon Gat.
His 39-year-old sister was abducted by Hamas militants on October 7 from Kibbutz Beeri near the border with the Gaza Strip - along with Alon Gat himself, his wife Yarden Roman-Gat and their three-year-old daughter. Gat managed to escape with his daughter during the hostage-taking. Yarden was released after 54 days captivity as part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The released hostages said that Carmel Gat, a behavioural therapist, took care of the other prisoners while they were held hostage and organized yoga classes. But where she is now and how she is doing are unknown. "We need to convince everyone that people need to get out of this hell," he said.
Germany is influential, especially when it comes to its ties to Qatar, which in turn plays an important role for Hamas, Alon Gat said. "The main goal of Germany now is to press Qatar, to press Hamas, because Hamas has to compromise."
