Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ceases Operations

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum officially ceased operations on Sunday, marking the end of a two-year + nightmare that put Israel at a standstill.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum served as the primary source of assistance and advocacy for supporting the hostage families and securing the return of their loved ones. Many hostage families had to stop working to advocate for their loved ones’ return. 

It was established less than 24 hours after the attacks of October 7, 2023, by families of the hostages, including the families of non-Israeli hostages, with the sole mission of bringing their loved ones home from the brutality of captivity in Gaza, regardless of race, gender, religion, or nationality. Originally established as an organization to unite the families, it quickly became evident that it would lead to so much more. 

The forum served as the primary source for thousands of volunteers and dozens of staff, including high-profile figures from various sectors: security, legal, healthcare, and even media and diplomatic, working in close cooperation with government ministries, the IDF, foreign governments, and in hundreds of communities around the world, to advocate for the return of the hostages on behalf of their families and loved ones. 

The movement sparked the largest moral and values-driven grassroots struggle in modern Israeli history, with over 100 weekly rallies and approximately 15 major campaigns. The largest rallies, in September 2024 and August 2025, drew over half a million participants.

The struggles and effort led to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of free advertising space (including on this channel) in Israel and abroad, hundreds of marches, convoys, and protest actions across Israel and worldwide, and hundreds of installations globally. It also included tens of thousands of media pieces, including social media content, hundreds of family delegations abroad, family participation in hundreds of conferences and community meetings, and tens of thousands of volunteers and activists in Israel and around the world.

The rapid mobilization and development that occurred under extreme and unprecedented circumstances that were unfamiliar to those who managed it led the forum to hire staff about four months after the attacks and outbreak of the war. 

The initial leadership team included an external management committee, a CEO, a board of six family members and representatives (two from each hostage family) with full voting rights determined by popularity.

The Human Resources division included a chief strategist, 15 desk managers, 120 employees, and 500 volunteers. The family support division was composed of eight managers, 50 employees, and 600 volunteers.

The advocacy department included multiple specialized units consisting of a strategy team with creative advertising, outreach in the ultra-Orthodox and religious-Zionist sectors, Knesset and government relations, Israeli media operations, international media operations covering strategy, delegations, diplomatic missions, branches in Israel and abroad, a business sector desk, and a social media department.

The forum was officially registered as a nonprofit in January 2024.  The forum first operated in Tel Aviv’s Museum Tower in donated office space before moving to the Checkpoint Building, where it ran its operations for the rest of the time.

With the help of the Tel Aviv municipality, Tel Aviv Museum of Art Plaza, also known to many as Habima Square, alongside the Beit Ariela library, was transformed into Hostages Square and became the central space for the Forum and the families. Hostages Square became a hub for rallies, press conferences, and other events, and became a pilgrimage site for supporters of the movement and visitors to Israel from around the world. 

The Beit Ariela library also housed a Family Room, which served as a quiet, protected, and supportive space where volunteers provided hot meals, children’s activities, and where families could bond with each other and offer support. 

Despite the challenges, the forum achieved unprecedented results, operating 24/7 and providing ongoing assistance to families in all areas: personal, medical, legal, strength, and shelter, adding that the support came “long before the state stepped in to help.” 

They added: “The Forum succeeded in the sacred, values-driven, and moral mission it set for itself: returning 255 of our brothers and sisters from Hamas captivity, some to rehabilitation, some for burial, thanks to the support and involvement of the people of Israel, world Jewry, countless individuals around the world, and assistance from the business sector. Special thanks to the tens of thousands of volunteers and activists in Israel and worldwide.”

They added: “The effort to keep the hostage issue in public consciousness could not have succeeded without the mobilization of media outlets and journalists who understood the magnitude of the moment and the mission, working day after day, each in their own way, to amplify the voices of those silenced in Hamas tunnels. Even on the most difficult days, they persevered and carried the burden of the mission shoulder to shoulder with us. We thank them for their fruitful, values-driven, and successful cooperation, even when fraught with challenges.” 

They added: “We will forever mourn the destruction and loss inflicted upon us by our enemies and eternally grieve the loss of 46 hostages who could have returned to us alive. We mourn all 87 deceased hostages together with hundreds of our fallen civilians and soldiers, and we extend eternal gratitude to their families for their sacrifice. We send wishes for complete healing to soldiers wounded in body and soul and embrace them with all our hearts.”

251 hostages were kidnapped in Gaza on October 7, 2023, with four others already being held for a decade before the attacks (two were returned alive and two bodies were sent back). Deceased soldiers Oron Shaul, Hadar Goldin were returned as well as Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed. Mengistu is an Ethiopian-Israeli with mental disabilities who wandered over the border and was captured by Hamas. The same goes for Bedouin-Israeli civilian Al-Sayed. Both young men were tortured in captivity.  87 hostages were returned deceased. After 843 days of ongoing war, the last hostage, Ran Gvili, was brought home. For the first time since 2014, there are no hostages in Gaza.