Limited demonstrations due to the northern front in favor of the release of the hostages

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets again on Saturday evening to demand a deal guaranteeing the release of captive Hamas hostages in Gaza – although in significantly lower numbers this week in accordance with instructions from the Home Front Command which has limited gatherings due to war.

Nearly 2,000 demonstrators gathered in front of the Begin Gate of the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, after the weekly press conference of relatives of hostages, who expressed their anger towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that They accused of having “torpedoed” the chances of the hostages’ release on several occasions throughout the year.

For his part, the Prime Minister assures that he is doing everything possible to free the hostages and accuses Hamas of having rejected numerous agreement proposals.

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This Saturday was the 365th day of captivity for the hostages, whose ordeal began when thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the ongoing war.

“If Netanyahu stays in power then their captivity will last three years, if indeed they live that long,” accused Omri Lifschitz, whose father Oded, 84, is hostage in Gaza, referring to the time that separates Israel of its next elections.

Danny Elgarat, whose brother Itzik, 70, is also a hostage in Gaza, said: “As the year went by, the kidnapping victims became hostages in Netanyahu’s war for his political survival. Throughout this year, Netanyahu has continued to torpedo the proposed agreement. »

“An entire year during which he ignored and abandoned 101 of his fellow citizens, who are still detained in the tunnels of death. Not only does Netanyahu not take responsibility for his responsibilities, but he consciously made the decision to abandon them and try to make us forget them,” Elgarat continued.

Lifschitz accused Netanyahu of “criminal maneuvers” for sabotaging negotiations for the release of hostages, including what he called “deceptive manipulation” on the issue of the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza border. and Egypt, by insisting on maintaining a military presence there, even to the detriment of an agreement.

The prime minister’s reasoning on the corridor “has been repeatedly refuted by security circles,” Lifschitz said.

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan, 25, is hostage, noted: “This is the 365th day of captivity of our loved ones, in hell, in Gaza. » She added: “And why are they still there? Because of Netanyahu! »

The prime minister “sacrifices the hostages to stay in power,” continued Zangauker, one of the most prominent figures among activists in favor of an agreement for the release of the hostages.

In Tel Aviv, the demonstration was much more limited than previous rallies, which had brought together hundreds of thousands of people in recent weeks. There were also smaller demonstrations throughout the country.

This week, the planned large demonstration was canceled in accordance with instructions from the Home Front Command limiting gatherings to 2,000 people in the Tel Aviv area, as well as in the north, parts of the West Bank and some Gaza border communities.

These limitations are explained by the intensification of fighting against the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, and in particular the ground operation in southern Lebanon launched this Monday, but also by the Iranian attack on Tuesday, during which the Islamic Republic fired 181 ballistic missiles at Israel. The government has said Israel will retaliate for the Iranian attack, without specifying when or how.

Some relatives of hostages said they were dismayed that the Israeli army sent ground troops into southern Lebanon last week, with the risk, they say, of a diminished chance of reaching a deal with Hamas in short term.

On Saturday, Zangauker reacted to reports that the government had told some families of hostages that after high-intensity fighting in Lebanon ended, there would be a chance to reach an agreement to secure the release of the hostages.

“We don’t believe anything this government says,” she added, “The failure [du 7 octobre] has now been a year old and today it is clear that Netanyahu has no intention of releasing the hostages. Even if the war in the north ends, Netanyahu wants the war in the south to continue. »

Ayala Metzger, whose 80-year-old father-in-law Yoram was murdered in captivity by Hamas, echoed Zangauker’s comments, saying: “We see clearly what is happening over the past few weeks, with the intensification of fighting. in the north. »

“How many Ministerial Councils have there been in recent weeks on the subject of hostages? How many counter-proposals did they give to intermediaries [dans les négociations avec le Hamas] ?

Hours later, protesters marched from Begin Gate and blocked the Ayalon Highway by lighting a small fire in the street.

Protests also took place elsewhere in Israel, including Jerusalem, Haifa, Caesarea, Kiryat Gat, Beer Sheva, Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Rishon Lezion, Kfar Saba, Hadera, Raanana, Hod Hasharon and Eilat.

In Jerusalem, demonstrators marched between Sion Square and Paris Square, behind a banner representing murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American-Israeli abducted from the Supernova music festival and who survived eleven months of captivity until he and five of his companions in misfortune were executed by their captors when the Israeli army approached their place of detention, in a tunnel in Rafah, in the south of Gaza.

“May his memory be a blessing,” the banner read, referring to the traditional Hebrew expression used when someone dies – “May his memory be a blessing” – and to the statement of his father. Goldberg-Polin according to which the memory of his son should allow “to change everything”.

On another banner seen in Jerusalem, one could read: “There will be no atonement possible for a whole year of abandonment”, in terms which evoke the High Holidays of the moment, and particularly that of Yom Kippur, very close.

In Caesarea, protesters also demonstrated near one of Netanyahu’s personal residences, as they have done every week for months. A delegation of Yom Kippur War veterans marched under a banner reading: “You are the leader, you are guilty.”

Dan Halutz, former IDF chief of staff expelled from a similar demonstration two weeks ago, addressed the crowd, wearing a t-shirt that read “Elections immediately “. The former IDF Chief of Staff, Moshe Yaalon, also took part in this demonstration: along with his counterpart and other demonstrators, they blocked a road.

In a video of the demonstration broadcast on social networks, one of these leaders can be heard saying that the body of Eden Yerushalmi, 24, murdered at the same time as Goldberg-Polin and four other hostages at the end of August, no longer weighed only 36 kilos when she was found, a few days after the execution.

In Kiryat Gat, where the residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community devastated by the attack on October 7, were evacuated, a demonstration took place, with their assistance.

In Beersheba, protesters blocked a major intersection on the city’s Rager Boulevard.

97 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 are believed to remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas freed 105 civilians during a week-long truce in late November, and four hostages were freed before that. Eight living hostages were rescued by soldiers, and the bodies of 37 hostages were also found, including three mistakenly killed by the army while trying to escape their captors.

Hamas also holds two Israeli civilians who entered the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014.