\n<\/p>\n
With the Israeli government fighting in Gaza to eliminate Hamas, many people whose loved ones were abducted during the Oct. 7 attack in Israel are fearful that the intensified fighting will put the hostages in even more danger.<\/p>\n
Jon Polin\u2019s 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, is believed to be among the hostages. Mr. Polin said he would have preferred that the government exhaust all other options to release his son and the other hostages before the Israeli military invaded, but he also admitted that he would likely think differently if his son had not been abducted on Oct. 7.<\/p>\n
On that day, Hersh Goldberg-Polin was at a music festival. When Hamas militants arrived, he lost part of his arm to a grenade blast, an injury documented in a video of him being loaded into a Hamas truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand the Israeli government\u2019s sense that we must go in and take action against Hamas,\u201d Jon Polin said, but added, \u201cThe best option for everybody in the world is for there to be a diplomatic, humanitarian release of all hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel Lifshitz\u2019s grandmother Yocheved Lifshitz<\/a>, 85, was one of the four hostages who have been released by Hamas. But his joy at being reunited with her was quickly overshadowed by concern for his grandfather Oded Lifshitz, 83, who is still believed to be held.<\/p>\n The couple, both peace activists from Nir Oz, a kibbutz near the Gaza border, were abducted when their community was overrun in the attacks.<\/p>\n Since Israel began sending ground troops into Gaza on Friday, Mr. Lifshitz\u2019s fear for his grandfather has intensified. \u201cI don\u2019t get any justification for how an act of war can help the hostages,\u201d he said, worrying that, instead, \u201cit will make things much more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Lifshitz said he would prefer for the government to take responsibility for its failures on Oct. 7, put more pressure on Qatar to negotiate the hostages\u2019 release, and \u201ctake any deal offered on the table,\u201d no matter the cost.<\/p>\n The families of the hostages are holding near daily protests. On Thursday in Tel Aviv, dozens of survivors of the Oct. 7 attack sat in silence in a central square wearing red blindfolds, their hands bound with plastic wrist ties, as part of a campaign to keep the fate of the hostages in the public eye.<\/p>\n There has been limited progress in securing the hostages\u2019 freedom. Two were released by Hamas on Oct. 20<\/a> and two on Oct. 23<\/a> after negotiations mediated by Qatar. A fifth hostage, a soldier, was rescued by Israeli forces<\/a> during a special operation on Monday. According to the Israeli military<\/a>, one of the goals of the ground activity in Gaza is to help rescue the hostages.<\/p>\n Yehuda Beinin \u2014 whose daughter Liat Beinin Atzili, and son-in-law, Aviv Atzili, both 49, are believed to be hostages \u2014 returned this week from a visit to the United States to speak with lawmakers and others about the hostage crisis.<\/p>\n Mr. Beinin said he strongly believed that \u201cIsrael has to complete its mission of destroying Hamas and anything that\u2019s connected to it.\u201d While he said he didn\u2019t know enough to say whether the ground invasion would help return his family members, he trusted that the United States was advising Israel to reduce civilian casualties, which could \u201cotherwise complicate the hostage situation.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been nearly a month since most families have heard from loved ones who disappeared on Oct. 7. \u201cUnfortunately the clock is ticking,\u201d Mr. Lifshitz said. With the war escalating, he said that he \u201cbegs for restraint and caution\u201d and that he hopes that \u201cboth sides do all they possibly can to release the hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n