After 19 months of war, the Israeli government has taken a decisive new turn. In a vote this week, the Security Cabinet rejected the latest proposed hostage deal and approved plans to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip, including a full takeover of Rafah. The move has drawn sharp condemnation from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of the 59 Israeli hostages still believed to be held by Hamas.
In an exclusive interview with The Media Line, Gil Dickmann, a dual American-Israeli citizen and one of the Forum’s leading voices, condemned the government’s actions as a moral and strategic failure. Dickmann is also the cousin of Carmel Gat, who was murdered in captivity.
They don’t care about the hostages anymore. There are things more important to them than the lives of Israeli citizens—among them, this government, this prime minister, and their ability to stay in power.
“They don’t care about the hostages anymore,” he said. “There are things more important to them than the lives of Israeli citizens—among them, this government, this prime minister, and their ability to stay in power.”
‘Conquest over life’
For Dickmann and other members of the Forum, the Cabinet’s announcement marked a painful rupture—not only with the families, but with what they see as Israel’s core values.
They had a deal on the table that would have brought Carmel home. They decided not to sign it. She was murdered. Now they are saying out loud: we will occupy Gaza, and we won’t trade territory—not even for the hostages. That’s choosing conquest over life.
“They had a deal on the table that would have brought Carmel home,” he said. “They decided not to sign it. She was murdered. Now they are saying out loud: we will occupy Gaza, and we won’t trade territory—not even for the hostages. That’s choosing conquest over life.”
The Forum has been at the center of civil pressure efforts since October 7, 2023. But with each stalled negotiation and each military escalation, its members say they’ve seen their influence shrink. Dickmann accuses the government of issuing “meaningless updates” while ignoring intelligence warnings that further operations may cost more hostage lives.
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“The most meaningful information we get comes from the press,” he said. “What the government tells us is spin. It’s the same message they gave us weeks before my cousin was killed: ‘we’re doing everything we can.’ But they weren’t. And they aren’t.”
Ignoring the warnings
Dickmann recounts a tense meeting with Gal Hirsch, the official appointed to coordinate hostage affairs. In that conversation, Dickmann warned that delaying negotiations would lead to deaths. “He told me, ‘I don’t know of such a strategy by Hamas.’ That was shocking to hear, because my cousin had just died due to that exact delay.”
Other families, he said, met with Defense Minister Israel Katz, who assured them the military operations were not endangering the hostages. “That’s just disconnected from reality,” Dickmann said. “The new IDF chief of staff just told the public that the military plan puts hostages at risk. How can the ministers pretend otherwise?”
‘Dermer has failed’
Dickmann also criticized Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who traveled to Cairo last week for indirect negotiations with Hamas via Egypt and Qatar. “His only job is to get hostages back,” he said. “Since he entered office, zero have returned. Before him, more than a hundred came home. His job now seems to be delaying the process so the war can continue indefinitely.”
He adds: “The people in charge are telling themselves a story—that this war can go on, that they can bomb and occupy and still save the hostages. That story is a lie. And we’re paying for it with lives.”
Hope in Trump, not Netanyahu
Amid growing frustration with Israeli leadership, Dickmann now hopes for US President Donald Trump. He claims the Hostages Forum remains in regular contact with figures close to Trump, including senior campaign advisers.
Trump is the hostages’ last and only hope. He’s the one who got the January deal through. He cares more than Netanyahu does. If he decides it’s time for a deal, it can happen in days.
“Trump is the hostages’ last and only hope,” he said. “He’s the one who got the January deal through. He cares more than Netanyahu does. If he decides it’s time for a deal, it can happen in days.”
Dickmann also referenced public comments by the Prime Minister’s wife suggesting that fewer than 24 hostages remain alive. “We don’t know what she’s basing that on,” he said. “But we reject it. There are 59 hostages. We want them all brought home—alive, if possible, and if not, to be buried with dignity.”
‘We don’t want revenge. We want life.’
Despite the war’s toll, Dickmann insists the Forum will continue its campaign inside Israel and abroad. “This war can end if Hamas releases the hostages,” he said. “We don’t want revenge. We want life.”
He sees the Forum’s message as a moral call, not just a political one. “If you believe life must defeat death, you are on our side. The people who want this war to go on forever are Hamas and the extreme right in Israel. That’s not most of us.”
“For Carmel, it’s too late,” he added. “But for the rest—for the 59—it’s not. We’ll keep doing everything, everywhere, to bring them home. Before it’s too late.”