Tens of thousands of demonstrators against the Israeli administration have assembled in the heart of capital, demanding further attempts to achieve the freedom of prisoners detained in Gaza. The demonstrators came together in front of government institutions, including army the main office. They yelled anti-Bibi chants, imploring him to make peace with Hamas, the Palestinian organization. Approximately 100 detainees are now being kept in the war-torn strip, and the protesters wish to guarantee their release.
Across Israel, the past fortnight has seen a resurgence of widespread unrest. It all began when six hostages’ bodies were found in Gaza. The demonstration on Saturday was attended by roughly 750,000 participants.
The detainees’ loved ones, who attended the event yesterday, expressed their frustration with the administration’s ineffective talks with Hamas.
Many held the prime minister responsible for the failure to negotiate a settlement because they thought it could have helped him hold onto power for the duration of the conflict. One captive’s family member claimed, the anti-deal administration is forsaking the hostages to lose their lives. “As long as Netanyahu is in power, this war will go on indefinitely and there will be no hostage deal. To save the hostages lives, Netanyahu must be replaced,” Cohen told the media.
The Israeli army’s publication of a video showing a passageway in Gaza where they claimed to have discovered the six detainees’ bodies sparked a furious reaction in Israel about their killings. The footage displays a small hallway lacking airflow and no toilets.
The general population on Israel is “horrified” by the appalling, brutal conditions that the prisoners in the Hamas underground are subjected to, according to the relative of one of the slain captives. “They are dying, locked up in small unventilated cells, in tunnels deep underground with no air, malnourished, without seeing the light of day for 11 months,” the same person told the Associated Press.
No Ceasefire
In October last year, militants headed by Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing over 1,100 and capturing around 250. Since then, the Israeli attack on the Strip has resulted in the deaths of almost 41,000 Palestinians and the displacement of nearly all 2.3 million residents.
The international efforts to secure a deal between the two sides of the conflict in Gaza has been fruitless. Israel has conditioned any ceasefire to the thorough annihilation of Hamas, while the latter has been able to survive through unknown measures.
The hostilities in Gaza have also spilled over to the other regional nations with Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran at the forefront of faceoff with Israel. Concerns over the expansion of conflict into a full-fledged regional war has been recurrently voiced by international actors and rights organizations.
