Thousands of people took to the streets again this Saturday in different neighborhoods of Israeland especially in the city of Tel Avivto demand that the government reach a truce agreement with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas which allows free hundreds of kidnapped people which still remain in his possession in the Gaza Strip.
Like every Saturday evening, the Hostage Relatives Forum (the main platform representing the families of those kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and killed some 1,200 people) led the protest in Tel Aviv, which featured an audio recording of Killing Anxietyone of the kidnapped.
“Netanyahu, you have to carry out this prisoner exchange between the (Palestinian) prisoners in Israel and the prisoners here,” Matan says in the video in which he directly addresses the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuand which is his first proof of life since October 7.
Hamas occasionally releases video and audio messagesclearly scripted, Israeli hostage crisis with the aim of pressuring society and the government to reach a truce.
The audio was released by Matan’s mother, Anat, after she gave a speech in which demanded that Netanyahu ignore his most extremist ministers (Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, key members of the government coalition), who oppose any type of agreement with Hamas.
At least One person arrested during protests in Jerusalemwhere small clashes took place between protesters and police.
Image of the demonstrations in the streets of Tel Aviv against the government, this Saturday.
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Protests demanding a deal to free the Gaza hostages have become a common occurrence in recent months, but so far failed to dissuade Netanyahu from softening his position.
Negotiations for a ceasefire that would allow the release of Israeli hostages still present in the enclave have stalled, despite the efforts of the mediating countries (USA, Egypt And Qatar) to restart conversations.
The main obstacle lies in the insistence of the Israeli authorities on maintaining a military presence in two key points of the Gaza Strip: the Philadelphia Corridor, which separates it from Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor, an artificial road created by the Israeli army that divides the territory in two.
Hamas has repeatedly reiterated that will not sign an agreement that does not include the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces of the enclave.
