Ever since October seventh, many in Israel have been gripped by a mix of sadness, frustration, and rage. And in the last few days, all of those emotions have been ramped up to a new level.

Alive and with them, real hopes of their release. Until so recently, Hersch Goldberg, Poland, Aiden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gad, Almoog Sarrusi, Alexander Obenoth, Ori Danino.

On Sunday, the Israeli military announced it had recovered the bodies of six hostages inside Gaza, including one of the most recognizable names, dual US Israeli citizen, Hersch Goldberg, Poland. Israeli health officials say forensic evidence suggests they were executed by Hamas at close range just two or three days before they were found. That grim discovery has kicked off days of the largest protests in Israel since the war began. Hundreds of thousands in the streets clashing with police. Some gathered outside the homes of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. On Monday, a brief general strike impacted airports, hospitals, and universities. And later that day, Husha's mother, Rachel Goldberg-Poland, eulogized son as he was laid to rest.

If there was something we could have done to save you and we didn't think of it, I beg your forgiveness. We tried so very hard, so deeply and desperately. I'm sorry.

All of this puts the possibility of a ceasefire deal in serious doubt, and many are asking whether Netanyahu or Hamas are serious about actually getting one done. But where does this leave the dozens of other hostages still in Gaza? Today, I'm going to talk to the brother of one of them. From CNN, This is One Thing. I'm David Reind.

Tell me where you are right now. I see some nice trees in the background there.

Yeah. Right next to the place where Carmel got a family, sits down after the funeral. I went there to meet them, say, I'm sorry, I know them for so many months. And I had no words, actually, to describe what I feel. And it was very sad. But there is a lot of hope still in those people.

This was one of the six that was discovered over the weekend?

Yes. Yes. Hermann Gart is one of the female hostage executed on Thursday.

This is Eli David. His brother, Eviatar, was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival in Southern Israel on October seventh. He said his family wasn't sure at first whether Eviatar had managed to escape the attack or was killed on the spot. Eventually, A Hamas propaganda video surfaced showing Eviatar handcuffed. His shirt was torn. He looked terrified, but he was alive. Since then, Eli and hundreds of other hostage families have been speaking out, trying to push for a deal that would bring their loved ones home. I caught up with Eli on Tuesday.

Tell me, what was your initial reaction when you learned that these bodies had been discovered?

I was shocked. I thought it's some conspiracy at the beginning, that it's a rumor. I couldn't believe. And after that, mostly rage. I think it was the most similar reaction to what I felt on October seventh. And I'm still devastated. I'm trying to pick up the pieces, trying to understand what's right right now. I'm afraid. I'm very afraid about my brother. I don't know how it will end. I mean, this savage is on the other side. I can pull the trigger any minute. And whatever I'll do, I feel like I cannot change this outcome. I really... I mean, I hope, and I know that there is only one option, and it's a coming back. I see this. I wake up with this every morning.

Well, tell me about your brother. What should our listeners know about him?

A Vitar is 23 years old. He was kidnapped 22. And he's a young man trying to live his life. He was a shift manager in a restaurant. I think his first passion is music. He loves music. He loves dancing festivals. He plays the guitar since he's 12. Our bond as brother, we are like, we are stupid men. So We don't speak much, but we have a strong bond over music. And the thing I love to do the most with him is just playing. We have a tradition every week. We sit down to play music together and sing together. There are specific songs that we sing for our mother. And the Vietar is also... He's like the the most sane person I know. And nothing worries him. He's never in a hurry. Everything is cool all the time. If somebody tries to pick up a fight, he's there to stop them. He's the one that his friends know that he will always listen to the problems. He will always give advice. He's like a solid rock in every friend's group and also in our family.

Do you have any confirmation that he's still alive today?

Yeah. I don't need this confirmation because I can feel him. We have that bond of brotherhood, which I really think is real. I can feel when he's cold, when he's hungry, But we also have enough evidence, I think, and that's a thing that experts told us that if he was filmed inside the strip after being led, like he was filmed in captivity on the first day, he's probably being somehow preserved by his captors because he's some asset. And that actually this picture was broken three days ago, two days ago, because then we saw that those savages kill living hostages, although they are some asset.

I want to ask about the negotiations for a deal because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been insistent on keeping a military presence in the Philadelphia Corridor, which is this stretch of land that runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt. He says it would help prevent Hamas smuggle arms. Does this idea of security in Gaza, the Israeli military presence, all the fine print that that's being negotiated in this deal, in theory, all to prevent another type of October seventh attack. Does that stuff resonate with you when you hear it being discussed?

At some level, it does. I do understand why the government is like, they want to take responsibility for future events that may or may not happen for the security of Israel. I can understand that. Actually, I support every act that will ensure the security of Israeli people against terrorism. But I think that right now, I I don't know. I actually don't know what is right, what is wrong. And the only thing I want is hostages to stop dying. And I believe that Israel have all the tools she needs in order to secure its people, even if we will stop this war right now and bring back all the hostages.

I guess I'm wondering, is this the best chance to secure those details that would beef up security in a way that could prevent another attack? Or is it just waffling on Netanyahu's part? What do you think about that?

I don't know, really. I have no idea. I try to understand. I really try to. And I try to hear and listen all the voices, But it feels like Netanyahu and Seenuwa wants this war to keep going because I don't know, maybe it's their interests to stay in control. But I do have to remind that we are fighting savage, evil people, radical evil on the other side.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say, because in the last few days, we've heard Hamas say they will kill more hostages if Israel tries to rescue them. So some hired liners say they're not serious about getting a deal done either. And why should we be negotiating with them? That legitimizes them or emboldens them. What would you like to see happen here?

If I was Prime Minister, I was probably stopping the war right now, taking back the hostages, releasing, I don't know, a significant amount of prisoners from Israeli prison. I would try to do everything in order to assassinate the dangerous people out there. Right now, the war going on, I think we are with our head inside the lion's mouth, and we have to take it out in order to advance.

That's what I was going to ask. Say there is a deal, your brother and other hostages are released. Would you want the war to eventually resume then after that?

I don't know. I mean, I want terror to stop. And if it means to keep on the war, so keep it on. If it means we can bring an agreement that will eliminate terror, then bring it on. I mean, I want to end the suffering, but I really feel that as Israeli, an Israeli, I feel like I have to save myself first, save my people first. And as we see right now, the Gaza citizens, they support Hamas all the All the way, they support what Hamas did on October seventh all the way.

You think that's true of every Palestinian in Gaza?

No, of course not. We saw it's something around 50 %. It was on December, and it's sad. It is very sad.

But even so, if some are supportive of what they did on October seventh, I can't imagine they are enjoying the constant bombardment, the lack of food. The UN is vaccinating babies against polio right now because that disease has made a comeback there. So I'm wondering how you see that tension.

I think first, it's an absurd that we stop the war, the Israeli army, stop the war in order to vaccinate the people of Gaza because we don't... They don't give us anything back. They don't give us any... They don't give our hostages any humanitarian aid. They don't give them any communication. And we do everything we can to protect the citizens of Gaza.

There's no doubt that Hamas does use civilians as human targets, and they carried out horrible, horrible acts. There's no doubt about that. And I will say that I know the IDF say they take all precautions to protect civilians, but I think there is a lot of evidence to the contrary, at least in specific instances. But I want to ask about Israel and the protests there that we've seen over these past couple of days. They've been huge. We've been hearing from people who have come out for the first time. But I've heard you say that protests don't necessarily help in securing a hostage deal. Do you still believe that?

I think that these protests are just not efficient enough. I try to think what is the most efficient thing because we are fighting as families, we are fighting such a a long combat, and we have to save our energy for the most important and efficient actions. And I don't think... I see all the public goes to the streets and not all the public, but big parts. If the public goes to the streets. And I don't know. I don't see how it helps. I really don't see how it helps. I don't think that the government cares so much for this protests. And there is a big part of the Israeli society that feels like very far away from these people protesting. And it's a big part, and it's a big part of Netanyahu supporters. So if these people that goes to the street don't vote for Netanyahu, I don't see how it helps.

Then I guess, what is the answer here? Or is it just going to go in this cycle for weeks and months on end into the future?

I don't know. I really don't know. I pray for Seignoire's death. I think that will change the game. I pray that some other miracles will happen. That's how I feel. I feel we are stuck and we need miracles to happen to help us save with Eviatar and the other living hostages. We are not heading any deal. And if there will be a deal, I don't know if I will see Eviatar in that deal because it will take so long. And both sides maybe wants to continue the war. I feel like we need a miracle. We need several miracles. And I'm very afraid that it's going to be much longer than we imagined.

Well, Eli, thank you so much for your time and wishing nothing but the best for you. I really appreciate it.

Thank you, David.

One Thing is a production of CNN Audio.

This episode was produced by me, David Reind.

Our senior producers are Felicia Patinkin and Fez Jamil. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dizula is our technical director, and Steve Ligtai is the executive producer of CNN Audio.

We get support from Haley Thomas, Alex Manisari, Robert Mathers, John Dianora, Lanie Steinhart, Jamis Andres, Nicole Pessereau, and Lisa Namerau.

Special thanks to Tamar Micalis, Wendy Brundage, and Katie Hinman. We'll be back on Sunday.

Talk to you then.