Israel Hostages demonstrate in front of Netanyahu's house

Dozens of relatives of the hostages abducted by Hamas and their sympathizers demonstrated in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's house.

At 6.29 a.m., the exact time a year ago when Hamas and other extremist groups from the Gaza Strip attacked southern Israel, the rally participants sounded a so-called "wake-up siren" for two minutes. They then sang the national anthem, reported the TV station Channel 13 News.

The participants in the protest called on Netanyahu to reach an agreement to free the 100 or so hostages still held by Hamas. On October 7 last year, the Islamists from Gaza not only carried out an unprecedented massacre with 1,200 dead, but also abducted around 250 people as hostages in the sealed-off coastal strip.

As part of the only agreement to date, Hamas released 105 hostages last November. The Israeli army was able to free a handful of hostages. Many of the kidnap victims still in the Gaza Strip are likely to be dead by now. The Forum of Hostage Families said in a statement: "Exactly one year ago today, hundreds of people were kidnapped, in their pyjamas from their beds, at a (rave) party celebrating life, or from their army base."

With the "wake-up call" siren, the hostage relatives are appealing to Netanyahu to stop abandoning their loved ones, the statement said. The head of government must bring all those kidnapped home with the help of an agreement so that "the living can resume their lives and the dead can be buried with dignity".