Tel Aviv’s ‘Hostages Square’, focal point for Gaza war protests, officially renamed

TEL AVIV - The Tel Aviv plaza where for two years people rallied to demand the return of Israelis abducted by Hamas has had its nickname, Hostages Square, made official.The city on Aug 12 formally renamed the area outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, where Israelis including victims’ families rallied each week after the Oct 7, 2023 attacks.“History cannot be erased, and we must not allow it to be forgotten,” Mayor Ron Huldai said at the unveiling.“This square will remain a testament to the families, to their struggle and to the commitment never to give up on anyone,” he said.Israelis who turned out for the dedication said it was important to remember the movement that emerged in the trauma that followed Oct 7, the deadliest-ever attack against Israel.“We need to remember the grace or the light that this tragedy brought into our lives,” said Anushka Auerstock, 38.Idan Levi, 23, said that even once the war is over, “we still won’t forget what happened on October 7, what happened after that, the hell we went through here”.Many protesters in the square had called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas to free the hostages. A US-brokered agreement was finally sealed in October of 2025.The Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.The militants dragged 251 hostages – 44 of them already dead – into Gaza, including many revellers from a music festival. A total of 168 hostages returned alive.Israel responded with a massive offensive in Gaza that has killed at least 73,388 people, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. AFP