End of an era
"No Longer Serving the Goal:" Tel Aviv Begins Dismantling Hostages’ Square
Hostages Square began spontaneously on October 8th and became a center for the fight to return the hostages to their families. Now, as one hostage remains in Gaza, the municipality has begun the work of removing the installments.
Tel Aviv began dismantling portions of Hostages’ Square on Tuesday, marking a significant transition in a site that became the emotional center of the nationwide campaign to bring home Israelis kidnapped on October 7 and held in Gaza. The move follows the shift from large Saturday-night rallies to Shabbat gatherings held with the approval of the family of the final captive, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, who remains in Hamas captivity.
Crews began removing installations in the plaza on Shaul HaMelech Street, though some elements — including the symbolic tunnel structure, the “Hope” sign, Alon Ehel’s piano and the large board tracking the days since the massacre and kidnappings — remain in place for now. It is still unclear whether this marks the full end of the square’s role as the symbolic core of the struggle.
Volunteers from the Hostages Families Forum are collecting hundreds of signs and personal messages that covered the plaza for two years. Visitors continued to sit at the piano Tuesday morning even as workers dismantled the central stage that once hosted weekly gatherings attended by hundreds of thousands.
“We’re in very challenging days,” said Dani Bar Giora, CEO of the Hostages Families Forum. “The mission isn’t complete until Ran Gvili returns. We’re with the family in every way. But the story has changed. It’s no longer a struggle, it’s an effort to ensure the agreement is carried out exactly.”
Bar Giora noted that large rallies at the square “no longer serve the goal” of bringing Gvili home. The Check Point building, which held key parts of the forum’s operations, is also being vacated. “We’re in discussions with the city. It’s not clear yet what the commemoration will look like. This is a chance to thank Tel Aviv for its support from one end to the other. The square is shrinking. I hope in a week we’ll rebuild the stage for the final event when all the hostages are home.”
Noa Keinan, a 49-year-old Tel Aviv resident who volunteered for two years, said the end is emotional but fitting. “My heart broke on October 8. I saw how the state disappeared. We promised we’d stay until the last hostage. I’m glad the square event is ending because it means something good.”
The Tel Aviv–Yafo Municipality said Hostages’ Square remains “a symbol of hope, solidarity and support” and that no changes to its name or character will be considered until Gvili returns. A formal commemoration process will begin only “when the appropriate time comes.”
Last Friday, thousands attended a Shabbat gathering in the square. Gvili’s sister Shira addressed the crowd, calling her brother “the first to help, the first to run into danger, the leader, the calm one, the brave one — truly number one.”