TEL AVIV – The hostages in Gaza are present everywhere in Tel Aviv. Photos of the missing 134 people hang from street corners, park benches, restaurants, private yards and show up on the home screen of the Hertz rental car agency.
Even as the hum of life goes on in this famously energetic city, with electric bikes and scooters whooshing past at breakneck speed, “Bring Them Home Now” is ubiquitous as a sign of the obsessive worry hanging over Israel. In recent days it has given way to the newer, more urgent phrase added to the backdrop of city life, “Get Them Out of Hell!” And on billboards with his picture, a menacing warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “You’re in charge.