Thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities on Saturday evening for the release of Hamas hostages and against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The gathering of the hostage families in central Tel Aviv was marked by International Women’s Day, which was celebrated worldwide the day before.
Relatives of female hostages and victims of Hamas violence, as well as a young woman released in November, spoke to participants in the meeting under the motto “19 women in the grip of Hamas.” A few hundred meters away, several thousand people demonstrated against Netanyahu’s government. Near the Defense Ministry headquarters, police stopped them from blocking a highway in the city, Israeli media reported.
Critics accuse the government of being unprepared
Authorities arrested 16 protesters. The government’s opponents accuse Netanyahu of misleading policies aimed only at his own interests. This meant that the country was unprepared when Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7. The terrorists killed 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 as hostages. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in front of President Yitzhak Herzog’s residence in Jerusalem. They also demanded freedom for the hostages. In Caesarea, near Tel Aviv, a large crowd gathered outside Netanyahu’s private villa. One of the speakers, a former general, said of the head of government: “Your policy is aimed at only one thing: to stay in power at all costs, and the war serves your purposes perfectly.”
134 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas
Just over 100 hostages were released from Israeli prisons last November in exchange for Palestinians. The conditions under which Hamas is holding kidnapped people in the Gaza Strip have been described as appalling. According to Israeli estimates, 134 hostages, including 19 women, are still in the hands of the terrorists. According to Israeli information, only about 100 hostages are alive. Indirect negotiations on a temporary ceasefire and the further release of hostages are currently at an impasse.
Source: Krone
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