By Deborah Danan
The plaza that became the center of Israel’s campaign to bring home the 251 captives Hamas seized on Oct.7, 2023 is now formally called “Hostages Square,” establishing a permanent reminder of the more than two-year struggle that ended with the return of the final hostage in January, 2026.
Mayor Ron Huldai unveiled new signage at the plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, formally adopting the name that Israelis used for the site for two-and-a-half years.
Hostage families and their supporters gathered at the square for mass rallies, weekly Shabbat gatherings, vigils and public events demanding the release of those held by Hamas in Gaza.
The plaza was also filled with crowds celebrating as hostages returned home.
“History cannot be erased, and we must not allow it to be forgotten,” Huldai said at the unveiling.
“The decision to name this place ‘Hostages Square’ is intended to ensure that this chapter in the history of the State of Israel, from Oct. 7, 2023 until the return of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, on Jan. 26, 2026, will be remembered for generations.”
The designation settles a debate over whether the site’s role in one of the significant events in Israel’s history should be remembered or erased.
After a ceasefire deal was announced in October, 2025 to free the remaining living hostages, Dani Miran, whose son Omri spent 738 days in Hamas captivity, personally urged Huldai to rename the plaza “Returnees Square.”
Other proposals included “Heroes Square” and names emphasizing unity. Relatives of hostages whose bodies were still held in Gaza argued that the existing name should remain until everyone was returned.
The remains of the last hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, was returned to Israel on Jan. 26. The following day, the clock in Hostages Square that had counted the time since Oct. 7 was stopped after 844 days.
The site still carries a political charge: In July, protesters met at the square to call for an official inquiry into the lapses that facilitated the Oct. 7 attacks, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted. The failures on and preceding that day are an issue ahead of the Oct. 27 elections.
Rebecca Geller, who handled international communications for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and spent much of the war alongside hostage families at the square, is glad the name is formally preserved.
“Whatever the space will be in the future, it will be important to honor” what it meant during the war.
“It gave the families a place to come to feel the support of the community, to get out of the house and to be nourished through the worst times of their lives, body and soul.”
Tel Aviv’s municipal naming committee backed Huldai’s proposal to make “Hostages Square” the plaza’s official name, saying it had become a national symbol of solidarity and the campaign to return the captives.
Until then, the site was officially known as the plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
“This was the site of a courageous and determined struggle led by families who did everything they could to bring their loved ones home,” Huldai said.
“Tel Aviv-Yafo had the privilege of being their home, and together with residents of the city and people from across Israel, this square became a center of solidarity, mutual responsibility and an unwavering demand: Bring them all home.”
“This square will remain a testament to the families, to their struggle and to the commitment never to give up on anyone.
“We will not allow this story to be forgotten.”
The square may now be permanent, but Google has yet to get the memo: As of last week, its Maps listing marked Hostages Square as “permanently closed.”
Geller said the square remains a difficult place to visit.
“I struggle to return there — even when I’m just going to the art museum — because it always brings up the emotion that was held there.
“For me, it will always be Hostages Square.”
