A year after Hamas tunnel executions, Israel honors 'Beautiful Six' as hostage debate intensifies

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israelis on Saturday marked one year since IDF soldiers recovered the bodies of six hostages executed by Hamas terrorists in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip.

Organizers estimated nearly 100,000 Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square to remember them as family members called on the government to make a deal to bring their loved ones home. A giant flag was unveiled calling on President Trump to "Make History."

The executions plunged Israel into mourning. The hostages were Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

"How do you sum up in a few words what you want to be remembered about your only son? He was a gift, a blessing, a talented listener, funny, respectful and a curious citizen of the world," Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh's parents, told Fox News Digital.

BODY OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE WHO WAS HELD FOR NEARLY 700 DAYS IN GAZA IS RECOVERED

American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, along with Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Carmel Gat, 40, Alex Lobanov, 32, Almog Sarusi, 27, and Ori Danino, 25, were brutally murdered by Hamas right before a rescue attempt by the IDF on Aug 2024. (Fox News)

"He will always be 23. He was not perfect, although most of us parents want to believe that about our children. But he was, indeed, the perfect son for us. We are blessed to have had Hersh in our life. We only wish it had been for longer. Rest peacefully, sweet boy," they added.

The anniversary coincides with Israel's new operation into Gaza City, which has led to a fierce debate on whether it could endanger the remaining hostages, given what happened to the "Beautiful Six."

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum warned that a deal to secure the hostages remains stalled as IDF operations advance, calling it "a painful reminder of last year’s lesson: military pressure kills hostages."

"This nightmare must end! For 694 days, our loved ones have endured hell, and we as a nation have lost all sense of direction. Escalating military pressure abandons the living hostages to their fate and leaves the bodies of those already dead buried forever in Gaza’s rubble," the statement added.

On Friday, the IDF announced that it had recovered the bodies of two hostages held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.

Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of murdered U.S.-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, attend his funeral in Jerusalem on Sept. 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli estimates indicate that 48 captives remain in the Strip, 20 are believed to be alive.

The developments come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that only a comprehensive ceasefire—one that ensures the return of all hostages and ends the war on Israel’s terms—will be considered. 

"Most families want all hostages returned at once," said Tzvika Mor, father of hostage Eitan Mor and co-founder of the Tikva Forum, which advocates for a full deal contingent on the elimination of Hamas. 

BROTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE URGES UN TO ACT AFTER VIDEO SHOWS HAMAS STARVING AND TORTURING CAPTIVES

"Here is where we are divided," Mor told Fox News Digital. "The Tikva Forum believes Hamas must be defeated and forced to surrender to Israel, while other families believe Israel must surrender to Hamas to rescue the hostages."

Mor pointed to the 1976 Entebbe rescue as an example, noting that while the outcome was uncertain at the time, Israelis widely believed the country had a duty to fight for its citizens rather than capitulate to terrorists. He argued that although military action carries risks, the far greater danger would be allowing Hamas to dictate terms after Oct. 7.

(Amit Goldstein//The Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

On Monday, Donald Trump suggested that the conflict would be wrapped up within weeks. Two days later, he chaired a meeting at the White House to discuss a comprehensive post-war plan for Gaza.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Tuesday that the Trump administration is aligned with Jerusalem against a partial deal.

"There’s been a deal on the table for the last six or seven weeks that would have released 10 of the hostages out of the 20 that we think are alive and it was Hamas who slow-played that process, and it is Hamas now who is saying we accept that deal. And I think in large part they are saying that and changing their mind because the Israelis are putting some very intense pressure on them," Witkoff told Bret Baier on Fox News' "Special Report."

Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid told Fox News Digital that his Yesh Atid Party supports "a full comprehensive deal which will include the return of all the hostages and an end to the war.

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"If that deal isn't possible," he continued, "then Israel should accept the partial deal that has been agreed to, which will give us time to achieve a full deal."

Netanyahu told visiting Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on Monday that the decision to expand the military campaign was "unequivocal."