On Monday, the families of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas in 2023 gathered for protests marking 500 days of their loved ones’ captivity.

The demonstrations began with the blocking of major streets in towns and cities, including Tel Aviv, and a march to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem.

Hamas continues to hold 73 hostages in the Gaza Strip, and it’s believed that 36 of them are no longer alive.

The Forum of Relatives of the Kidnapped called for rallies and a day of fasting under the slogan “Get them out of hell.”

The hostages were taken during the Gaza war that began after Hamas and its allies killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and took more than 250 people back to Gaza. Over the next 15 months, more than 48,200 Palestinians died in the conflict.

Under a ceasefire that started on January 19, Israel agreed to release 33 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners. So far, 19 hostages have been released, along with five Thai nationals taken during the abductions.

Another 14 hostages, including eight presumed dead, are expected to be released in the next two weeks.