After a series of interviews given over the weekend by the National Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch, 78 returned hostages and family members of hostages issued a blistering letter to him on Sunday evening.
“With all we know and have experienced personally about the harsh treatment of families, and the damage done to the return of the hostages, it would be better for Mr. Hirsch to remain silent forever,” the letter stated.
3 View gallery
Gal Hirsch, activity at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv
(Photos: Noam Rivkin Fenton; Headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
According to those who signed the letter, “for two years, Hirsch presented the families with a collection of lies and eye-rolling, threatening, and blackmailing us not to speak out against the prime minister, while holding an official position and a position of power over us and our loved ones held captive by Hamas.”
In his interviews, Hirsch said that during the past two years there were messages that “served the narrative of Hamas,” and that he himself received threats to his life from families of hostages.
“His despicable comments against the struggle of families and against specific families are the continuation of the abuse by other means,” the signatories wrote Sunday night.
“Fortunately, the professionals demanded removing him from any involvement in the deal,” the letter continued. “Hirsch claimed in the interview that there was no need to demonstrate urgency, and we remind him that as the person responsible for the fate of captives, both the missing and the hostages, he at no point demanded their return as the highest priority.”
“Because human lives were not urgent enough for him, surviving hostages suffered prolonged torture, hostages who were murdered were cast into poor ground while he enabled the delaying of the dead’s return, and 46 who could have returned alive were killed or died from lack of medical care.”
The signees concluded by demanding that “Hirsch—who is now clearly nothing more than a political arm seeking armor within a party ahead of the elections—should resign immediately from his position, so that no family remains subject to further psychological abuse and threats from someone who was supposed to protect their loved ones and who is undoubtedly afflicted by a conflict of interest.”
The letter was signed by dozens of survivors and family members, including Mor Korngold, Gil Dikmann, Carmit Palty Katzir, Einav Zangauker, Lishay Miran Lavi, Bar Godard, Ofri Bibas, Ada Sagi, Arbel Yehud, Yael Yehud, and many others.
Criticism from former hostage Or Levy
After Hirsch’s interviews, former hostage Or Levy published a post on Facebook on Sunday morning criticizing him directly:
“I didn’t want to be angry, I didn’t want to accuse, but what’s been happening lately, and especially the interviews that Gal Hirsch suddenly decided to give, affected me. Dear Gal Hirsch, I’ll start by addressing you—I’m not sure if you really know who I am, because apart from the question of ‘Do you want to say something to Trump,’ we never exchanged a word.”
Levy, whose wife Einav was murdered on October 7, added: “So yes, to Trump I wanted to say, thank you! For bringing me back. Not you, not the prime minister, and not anyone else. Let no one take credit for what they did not do. When our sign-of-life video reached you (including footage that was not released), you chose to remain silent. And now we are to blame. We! The ones you did not protect, the ones you abandoned! Me and my family.”
3 View gallery
Gal Hirsch alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the press conference after the last hostage was returned
(Photo: Noam Rivkin Fenton)
Levy shared the interview Hirsch gave to Haaretz, whose headline quoted him saying that, according to the POW coordinator “the protests for the hostages helped Hamas, and there was no need to create a sense of urgency here.” In an interview with Ynet, Hirsch said he received threats from family members of hostages, and Levi responded:
“Gal Hirsch, shame on you! Who are you to speak about us or our families? Who are you to tell my 70‑year‑old parents what to tell a two‑year‑old whose mother was murdered and whose father was ‘lost’? Who are you to tell bereaved parents that could have received their children alive, but because of negotiating delays they lost their lives?”
Overnight, Hirsch issued a denial on X, writing: "The headline Haaretz gave to my interview is false. Presenting things as if we had no sense of urgency about the hostages is a lie, and that is not how the remarks were presented in the interview. The opposite is true—there was very high urgency! I admit I was warned in advance about the Haaretz interview but insisted on allowing interviews with all Israeli media outlets. I learned.”
Families’ headquarters to close: 'Mission completed'
At the same time, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced officially that it is ceasing operations.
“With the return of Israeli hero Rani Gvili to his eternal rest, the mission of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum has ended,” the statement read. It added that “after a determined struggle led by the headquarters, with the support of the people of Israel, 255 hostages were returned home, some to recovery and some for burial. The families thank the IDF soldiers and reservists and all security forces wherever they are. We will forever be grateful to the bereaved families who lost the dearest they had, and we wish healing and recovery to the war’s wounded in body and soul.”
According to the statement, “the board of directors met today and decided to cease the headquarters’ activities except for actions required to close it. Once work on preparing the financial reports for 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 is complete, the general assembly will convene to decide on applying to the Registrar of Associations to close the organization. At that stage the final picture of remaining funds in the headquarters’ coffers will be clarified and a decision made on what will be done with them. That decision will be made in coordination with the families.”