Families of hostages murdered in Hamas captivity made a statement in front of the Begin Gate at the Kirya in Tel Aviv. Merav Svirsky, sister of Itai Svirsky who was murdered in Hamas captivity in Gaza, said that "the Israeli government is preparing the ground for the next murder of hostages. This is not a theory, this is a real alarm coming from official and senior sources. Itai, my beloved brother, was murdered because of military pressure." According to her, "A flag blacker than black flies over the operation to conquer Gaza. It is mandatory to resist a manifestly illegal order, and this is exactly the order that the cabinet is imposing on the IDF Chief of Staff."