Like every Saturday since the attack on October 7, 2023, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand the release of the hostages. But the end of mediation worries the families.
Qatar has announced that it is suspending its mediation between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, to the great despair of certain Israelis who have expressed concern for the fate of the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
On the 400th day of the war started by the Islamist movement, thousands of people gathered, like every Saturday, in Tel Aviv to demand the release of the hostages, noted an AFP journalist.
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«I am very, very worried“, one of the demonstrators, Ruti Lior, told AFP. “I don't really understand to what extent Qatar can or cannot help, but for me this is another proof that this is really lacking in seriousness and that these agreements are being sabotaged“, explained this psychotherapist.
“We have been waiting for 400 days”
In the procession, several people brandished signs with the number 400 or slogans demanding the return of the hostages and the end of the war. “We've been waiting for 400 days“, testified Gal, a 60-year-old man. Qatar “failed in the issue of mediation, and not only them, but others also failed».
Along with the United States and Egypt, Qatar is one of the main players in mediation which aims to establish a truce between the two belligerents and obtain the release of the hostages. Of the 251 people taken as hostages that day, 97 remain detained in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the Israeli army.
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International mediation led to a truce in November 2023 – the only one in the conflict – which lasted a week and allowed the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. But, after months of unsuccessful efforts, Qatar announced on Saturday that it had suspended its mediation.
«How many more tears must be shed and how much blood must be shed before someone does the right thing and brings our children home? Four hundred days! Can anyone imagine this?“, said Nina Wenkert, the mother of a hostage. “We are silent, but we have not given up. A mother never gives up. Never!“, she added.
For his part, a Qatar Foreign Affairs spokesperson indicated in a statement that his country would resume its mediation efforts “when the parties demonstrate willingness and seriousness» to end hostilities.
