by Supporters and relatives of hostages captured in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 stormed a meeting in Israel’s Parliament on Monday to demand that lawmakers take greater steps to secure the release of Gaza captives.
The protest reflected the growing frustration of hostage families, who are increasingly worried about the fate of their relatives as the war, now in its fourth month, continues.
“You will not sit here while they die there,” read signs held by some of the protesters, who broke into a Finance Committee meeting.
“What a shame!” one of the protesters shouted.
Over the past week, several current and former Israeli security officials suggested that reaching a deal with Hamas was the only way to safely bring the hostages back to Israel. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to talk about eliminating Hamas in Gaza and returning the hostages.
On Saturday, protesters at demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Caesarea (near a private residence of Netanyahu) called on the government to take immediate steps to secure the release of the more than 100 hostages still being held in Gaza. A week-long ceasefire in November between Israel and Hamas, negotiated with the help of Qatar and Egypt, allowed the release of about 100 hostages and 240 Palestinian detainees and prisoners held by Israel, but efforts to secure another agreement Similarly, they have made little apparent progress. .
On Monday, Netanyahu told representatives of the hostage families that there was “no real proposal” from Hamas, but that Israel had submitted its own offer, without giving further details, according to a statement from his office.
Brett McGurk, a senior Biden administration official, was scheduled to travel to Cairo and Doha, Qatar, this week in hopes of moving toward a deal that would result in the release of more hostages in exchange for a pause in the military campaign. Israel in Gaza. , two US officials said on Sunday.
