Rami Amichai
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Thousands of Israelis rallied against their government on Saturday, some demanding the prime minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The six-month-long war in Gaza has been called off as diplomatic efforts to retrieve Gaza hostages captured by Hamas stall.
Hamas-led militants captured 253 people and killed 1,200 people in the October 7 attack on Israel, officials said. Some hostages were freed in a ceasefire in November, but efforts to reach a new agreement brokered by Egypt and Qatar appear to have stalled.
As concerns grow for the safety of the remaining 129 hostages who cannot be contacted in Israel, their families and friends are organizing increasingly vocal demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.
They have joined forces with activists who have long called for Prime Minister Netanyahu to step down, citing his trial on corruption charges (which he denies) and his attempts to reform the judicial system last year.
“Our country is approaching the abyss. We have already started the push and we have to stop it. I gather my strength and tell my people that we need to come out and that we I'm here to tell you that we need to tell our governments that the time has come. Stop,'' said Marva Erez, 45, one of the protesters in Tel Aviv.
Despite alarm from Washington and other Western capitals over civilian casualties in Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu said he would continue the war to dismantle Hamas. Medical officials say more than 33,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza.
Hamas said any new hostage deal must bring about an end to the Gaza war and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces.
“There will be a (hostage) deal,” Culture Minister Miki Zohar, a senior member of Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party, told Channel 12 television. “But we cannot pay any price.”
Anti-government protests in Tel Aviv were held separately from a smaller vigil for the hostages. Many of those who attended the latter event quickly joined the larger demonstration.
Michael Levy, whose brother Orr was also one of the hostages, said he was protesting because “we don't have time to talk.”
“We need action. We need to bring them home,” he said.
(Writing: Dan Williams; Editing: Barbara Lewis)
