Politics Thousands of Israelis demonstrate for hostage deal
Thousands of Israelis have demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in support of a deal that would see around 120 hostages held by Hamas regain their freedom.
14.07.2024, 00:11
SDA
The participants in the rallies accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging the indirect talks with the Islamists to reach such an agreement.
"Netanyahu is killing the hostages," read a huge banner carried by demonstrators in Tel Aviv. One of the speakers, a former hostage, said: "I may seem okay on the outside, but the pain weighs on me more than anyone can imagine." He was still one of the lucky ones who had been held captive in a house and not in a tunnel. "So if I suffered brutal conditions and abuse, what about the other 120 hostages?"
According to media reports, thousands demonstrated in Jerusalem in front of Netanyahu's residence and in the seaside resort of Caesarea in front of a private villa belonging to the head of government. Smaller rallies were held in Haifa, Beersheba and Herzliya. Several hundred relatives and sympathizers of the hostages had marched on foot from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem over the past four days.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the USA, have been ongoing for months. The aim is to exchange the 120 or so remaining hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and to bring about a ceasefire. The indirect talks are proceeding slowly because both sides are finding it difficult to reach compromises. Moreover, many of the hostages are probably no longer alive.
The war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations in southern Israel on 7 October. They killed more than 1200 people and abducted another 250 as hostages in the Gaza Strip.
