Following their return home by an IDF operation, the four hostages, Noa Argamani, Almog Meir, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, were visited by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, Netanyahu was criticized by political leaders and families of hostages for only visiting the hostages who were brought home alive and has yet to pay visits to the families of the hostages who died in captivity or were killed on October 7, and their bodies remain in Gaza.
Following the return of the four hostages, the prime minister went to the hospital where the hostages were receiving medical treatment.
Relatives and political leaders speak out against Netanyahu
The relatives of the families of hostages who were killed in captivity in Gaza criticized the conduct of Netanyahu. Avi Marciano, the father of Noa Marciano, who was murdered in captivity, wrote in a post on Facebook, “I look at Yaacov, Noa Argamani’s father, and I can’t help but be moved. From the bottom of my heart, I’m really happy for all the families who got to hug their loved ones. And also jealous. This emphasizes how bad our end was. The prime minister didn’t come and didn’t call either.”
Yair Golan, the newly-elected chair of the Labor Party, wrote in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, “A reasonable prime minister does not discriminate between blood and blood. A reasonable prime minister comforts everyone. A reasonable prime minister does not divide victims into ‘ours’ and ‘theirs.”
ראש ממשלה סביר לא מפלה בין דם לדם. ראש ממשלה סביר מנחם את כולם. ראש ממשלה סביר לא מחלק קורבנות ל"משלנו" ול"משלהם". ראש ממשלה סביר לא מפרק את החברה. לא שובר את העם. לא מסית איש באחיו. לא עומד על המרפסת בכיכר ציון ולא מוביל מסע תהלוכה עם ארון קבורה ועליו הכתובת: יצחק רבין. ראש…
— Yair Golan - יאיר גולן (@YairGolan1) June 8, 2024
He continued, saying, “A prime minister who does all this sabotages security, destroys national resilience, and harms our fundamental values as a nation and as a society.”
Thousands of protesters gathered at dozens of locations across Israel on Saturday night, calling for a hostage deal and elections just hours after news of the rescue of the four hostages – Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv – broke.
The parents of Kozlov, who was rescued from Hamas captivity during the Saturday IDF rescue operation, landed in Israel and arrived at the Sheba Medical Center to meet their son on Sunday.
On Saturday night, the Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that Kozlov’s parents had boarded a flight to Israel from Russia to reunite with their son.
The parents were sent to the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, where their son is currently located.
The consulate general of Israel in St. Petersburg, Russia, had accompanied them on their journey to Israel.
Alongside the other rescued hostages, Kozlov had been kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova Music Festival on October 7.
Eve Young and Walla contributed to this report.