As Israel marked the second anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, 48 families are still waiting for the return of their loved ones, who were abducted on this day in 2023. Though Hamas has accepted the Gaza peace deal, proposed by Trump and agreed to release the remaining hostages, there is still no clarity on when they will return home. Families call for immediate return of hostages “48 of our loved ones are still there, held captive. For us, and for the people of Israel who have taken to the streets week after week for two years, each of these 48 souls is a world unto themselves. Every single one of them must come home. The living need rehabilitation, and the deceased deserve burial in their homeland,” the families of the hostages said in a social media post. Shiri Tamam, an Israeli Canadian light a candle during a memorial marking two years anniversary of the deadly October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) End Israel's longest war They also thanked US President Donald Trump, who proposed the Gaza peace plan, which has since been accepted by Israel and Hamas and has the backing of Arab and European countries. “His deal gives us renewed hope that this nightmare may finally end and our loved ones will come home,” they said. The families of the hostages also appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the longest war in the country’s history. “This is the moment to reach an agreement that will end the longest war in our history and bring all 48 hostages home,” they said. Two years ago, on October 7th, 2023, our lives changed forever. Terrorists invaded our communities, parties, and bases, murdering, raping, injuring, and kidnapping hundreds of innocent people. 48 of our loved ones are still there, held captive.For us, and for the people of… pic.twitter.com/sHP9XFWBSg— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) October 7, 2025 October 7 terror attack 1,195 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the coordinated cross-border terror attack inside Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The terror attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history, came a day after the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israeli flags and photos of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are displayed on Copacabana beach, placed by the NGO Rio de Paz, in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, October 7, 2025, to mark the two year anniversary of the deadly Hamas attack on Israel. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) 251 Israelis were also taken hostage by Hamas militants during the October 7 terror attack, out of which 48 are still in Gaza. The release of the remaining hostages was one of the key sticking points in ending the war in Gaza that has claimed over 67,000 lives in the past two years. Hamas on Gaza peace deal On Tuesday, Hamas said it wants to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on US President Trump's plan, but added that it still has a set of demands. "The (Hamas) movement's delegation participating in the current negotiations in Egypt is working to overcome all obstacles to reaching an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people in Gaza," senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised statement. He said a deal must ensure an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip - conditions that Israel has never accepted. Israel, for its part wants Hamas to disarm, something the group rejects. Hamas wants a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the immediate start of a comprehensive reconstruction process under the supervision of a Palestinian "national technocratic body", he said. Underlining the obstacles lying ahead at talks, an umbrella of Palestinian factions, including Hamas issued a statement vowing "resistance stance by all means" and saying "no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people."
