Protesters storm a meeting in Israel's parliament to demand more action against hostages
Supporters and relatives of hostages captured in the October 7 Hamas-led attacks gathered in Israel's parliament on Monday to demand that lawmakers take more action to secure the prisoners' release from Gaza.
The protest reflected growing frustration among hostage families who are increasingly concerned about the fate of their relatives as the war, which is well into its fourth month, continues.
“You are not going to sit here while they die there,” read signs held up by some protesters who stormed into a Finance Committee meeting.
“You should be ashamed!” shouted one of the demonstrators.
Over the past week, several current and former Israeli security officials have suggested that striking a deal with Hamas was the only way to safely return the hostages to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, continued to talk about both eliminating Hamas in Gaza and returning the hostages.
On Saturday, demonstrators at rallies in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Caesarea – near a private residence of Mr Netanyahu – called on the government to take immediate action to secure the release of the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza. A week-long ceasefire in November between Israel and Hamas, brokered with help from Qatar and Egypt, allowed the release of about 100 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners and prisoners held by Israel, but efforts to to achieve such an agreement, little visible progress has been made. .
On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu told representatives of hostage families that there was “no real proposal” from Hamas, but that Israel had made its own offer, without elaborating on its 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 making progress toward an agreement that would result in the release of more hostages in exchange for a break in Israel's military campaign in Gaza. , two US officials said on Sunday.