At the Israeli Embassy in London, relatives of people who were murdered or kidnapped by Hamas earlier held an emotional press conference.

Ayelet Svatitzky, a British-Israeli citizen, told the dozens of reporters in the room that her “life stopped on the 7 October” when she found out that her elderly mother and two brothers had been captured.

Her oldest brother, Roi Popplewell, 54, was shot dead. Her mother Channah Peri and brother Nedev Popplewell were looking forward to a holiday in London but instead she said they were: “being held against their will in Gaza”.

David Barr, who grew up in Leeds, said: “Life is turned upside down by death, by hatred, by evil people, monsters.”

His sister-in-law Naomi was shot twice at point-blank range on her morning run.

Eighteen days have passed since Ofri Bibas Levy received any sign of life from her brother Jordan, who messaged her saying he loved her when Hamas was nearby.

The pain was evident in her voice as she described being too scared to call him in case it gave away his location.

His wife Shiri, their four-year-old old son Ariel and nine-month-old baby boy Kfir were also captured.

When asked about hostages being freed, she said: “We can’t forget what happened. Those releases are like torture for us.”