1 week Ago
Families of Israeli hostages say the public is being deceived by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "the blood of every hostage taken alive returning in a body bag" is on his hands. At their weekly media conference on Saturday local time, the families demanded the end of the war and the return of the hostages held in Gaza. "Netanyahu is misleading and deceiving the public at the expense of the lives of our hostages," Efrat Machikawa, the relative of freed hostage Gadi Moses said.
"We must take to the streets and demand that the war be ended and that all the hostages be returned in one step. Large crowds of people protested against Mr Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. Recently Mr Netanyahu announced his decision to escalate military operations in Gaza, saying Hamas had rejected a proposed temporary truce earlier this week.
Instead, the militant group demanded a broader agreement to end the war in exchange for the hostages' release. Hostage family members and supporters took to the streets and thousands gathered in Tel Aviv's hostage square, calling on Mr Netanyahu's right-wing government to make a deal with Hamas, end the war and free all the hostages, even if that required Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza and stop the conflict. "An entire nation has been deceived.
They tell us that military pressure will bring the hostages back, when in fact all it does is kill them," Yotam Cohen, brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen said. "70 per cent of the Israeli public is in favour of ending the war and bringing the hostages home. Hamas open to new ceasefire agreement Hamas is open to an agreement to end the war in Gaza that would see all hostages released and secure a five-year truce, an official said on Saturday as the group's negotiators held talks with mediators.
The President of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has demanded the militant group free the remaining 59 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and hand over its weapons. In Cairo, a Hamas delegation was discussing with Egyptian mediators ways out of the 18-month war. Nearly eight weeks into an Israeli aid blockade, the United Nations says food and medical supplies are running out.
The Hamas official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinian militant group was "ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years". The latest bid to seal a ceasefire follows an Israeli proposal that Hamas had rejected this month as "partial", calling instead for a "comprehensive" agreement to halt the war ignited by the group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The rejected Israeli offer, according to a senior Hamas official, included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.
Air strike hits family home Israeli air strikes hit Gaza again on Saturday, with rescuers reporting the deaths of 19 people. In Gaza City, the civil defence rescue agency said a strike on the Khour family home killed 10 people and left an estimated 20 more trapped in the debris. Israeli air strikes in Gaza City continued over the weekend, rescuers said.
Umm Walid al-Khour, who survived the attack, said "everyone was sleeping with their children" when the strike hit. "The house collapsed on top of us," she said. Elsewhere across Gaza, nine more people were killed, rescuers on the ground said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the latest strikes but it said "1,800 terror targets" had been hit across Gaza since the military campaign resumed on March 18. The military added that "hundreds of terrorists" were also killed..
