Thousands demand hostage deal in Israel

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Lerato Khumalo

Relatives of the hostages are repeatedly calling for protests against Prime Minister Netanyahu. Shortly before his departure to the USA, they are demanding a deal at last.

In Israel, thousands of people demonstrated against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and for an immediate agreement in the Gaza war to release the hostages. Shortly before Netanyahu’s departure for the USA, demonstrators in Jerusalem held up banners reading: “No flight without an agreement,” as the “Times of Israel” reported in the evening. On Wednesday, Netanyahu plans to give a speech to both houses of the US Congress on Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.

At one of the weekly rallies in Jerusalem, one of the participants, whose own grandson was abducted in the October 7 terrorist attack in Gaza and was recently declared dead by the military, according to the newspaper, said: “Only an end to the war will bring the hostages home.” An end to the war will “also mean an end to the government,” he added. “So you can all understand why this war has lasted so long and why there is still no hostage agreement,” the man was quoted as saying.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have been going on for months, with Egypt, Qatar and the USA mediating. They revolve around a three-stage plan that envisages the exchange of the approximately 120 hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, as well as ways to achieve a permanent ceasefire. Participants in the indirect talks recently expressed cautious optimism. However, no further high-level meetings have been announced at present.