Hamas hostages | Thousands of demonstrators increase pressure on Netanyahu

2023-11-04 23:02:16

(Tel Aviv) A demonstration by the families and supporters of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas brought together several thousand people in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening demanding more efforts from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their release, journalists from the AFP.

Posted at 5:02 p.m.

Nearly a month after the deadly attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel on October 7, several hundred people also demonstrated in Jerusalem to demand the resignation of Mr. Netanyahu, whom they consider “responsible and guilty” for failures in management. from the country.

The attacks caused the deaths of 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and at least 240 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. In the Gaza Strip, which has since been relentlessly shelled by the Israeli army, nearly 9,500 people, mainly civilians, were killed according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

“The families of the hostages and the missing will not return home until all the hostages are home,” says the Forum of Families of the Hostages and the Missing, which called for the rally in Tel Aviv, in front of the Ministry of Defense .

PHOTO BERNAT ARMANGUE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

“I expect and demand that my government change its approach,” said Hadas Kalderon, whose five members of his family were kidnapped.

“Every day I wake up to a new day of war. A war for the lives of my children,” Ms. Kalderon said.

Participants said they were determined to camp in front of the ministry until the hostages returned.

In the afternoon, a government member was booed during a meeting with families in Tel Aviv, according to Channel 12 footage.

PHOTO BERNAT ARMANGUE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

A woman demanding a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is comforted by another protester.

International pressure is growing on the Israeli government to accept a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, but the hostages’ relatives are making their release a sine qua non condition.

In Jerusalem, hundreds of people gathered in front of the prime minister’s residence, shouting “Resign now” and “October 7, responsible and guilty”.

“After a month of mourning, this is the largest demonstration against Netanyahu,” Yoev Lotem, a 64-year-old participant, told AFP.

Others wore T-shirts printed with the prime minister’s blood-stained face or stickers calling him “Crime Minister.”

“We want a vote to get rid of Netanyahu. I hope that the demonstrations will continue and grow,” Netta Tzin, 39, told AFP, feeling “betrayed” by the Prime Minister’s action.

The attacks of October 7 further weakened Benjamin Netanyahu, who holds the record for longevity in the post of prime minister in Israel and had already been facing massive protests against his judicial reform for several months.