Leaving hostages in Gaza breaks 'sacred' bond for Israelis

JERUSALEM, unidentified — Six months after Hamas's October 7 attack, dozens of hostages are still languishing in captivity -- a fact that for many Israelis has ruptured a foundational contract between them and their government.

"The Jewish people need protection, especially with who we live next to," said Einat Avni Levi, whose family home is within sight of Gaza.

Five of her neighbours in the Nirim kibbutz community were killed and five more taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7.

"If someone comes and takes me from my bed, I cannot live here if I don't trust my army and my government to come get me," she told AFP.

Most Israelis think their government has not done enough to free the 129 hostages still being held by Hamas, according to a poll last week by Israel's Channel 12.

For Levi, 40, something fundamental has been shattered -- a "bond" broken between the state and its people.

"Growing up and serving in the army, I always knew everything would be done to get me back," said Shimon Attal at one of the recent rallies in Jerusalem for the return of the hostages.

"I knew they would not stop at anything," the computer programmer told AFP. "And that made you feel safe."

Rabbi Benny Lau said the concept is a bedrock of Israeli society.

"There is a covenant between the state and the citizens that no one will be left behind. You feel secure your leaders will do the maximum to bring you back," he said.

But "when we are talking about a Jewish state it goes to another level, a sacred level," he insisted.

"The idea of preserving life is so strong, it's written in the Bible so many times," Lau said. "We are all the image of God, so if you lose a person you are losing part of God."

The rabbi said that sense of solidarity was reinforced by the centuries of persecution Jews suffered, when children and elders were kidnapped for ransom.

Even the head of Israel's military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, talks of this deep "moral obligation" and that Israel is ready to "pay a price for the return of its sons and daughters".

Indeed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who many accuse of "abandoning" the Gaza hostages -- exchanged 1,027 Palestinian prisoners for just one