Tel Aviv Formally Renames Museum Plaza 'Hostages Square'

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality officially renamed the plaza in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art as 'Hostages Square' on August 11, 2026, formalizing a name residents had used informally since October 7, 2023. The plaza served as the epicenter of the yearslong public campaign for the hostages' return, hosting mass rallies, Shabbat ceremonies, and vigils throughout the crisis. Mayor Ron Huldai unveiled the new signage, saying the square 'became a center of solidarity, mutual responsibility, and an uncompromising demand: Bring them, all of them, home,' and pledging 'we will not allow this story to be forgotten, not one letter, not one act, not one breath.' The municipality said the renaming is meant to ensure that the chapter of Israel's history 'from October 7, 2023, until the return of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, on January 26, 2026, will be remembered for generations.'