Protests held across Israel calling for hostage deal, end to Gaza war
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Israeli police said more than 30 protesters were arrested for disturbing public order.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TEL AVIV – Demonstrators across Israel called on Aug 17 for an end to the war in Gaza and a deal to release hostages still held by militants, a push lambasted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.
The protests came more than a week after Israel’s security Cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City
The war was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel
Forty-nine captives remain in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military said are dead.
A huge Israeli flag covered with portraits of the remaining captives was unfurled in Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostage Square – which has long been a focal point for protests throughout the war.
“This is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages,” demonstrator Ofir Penso, 50, told AFP as thousands gathered in downtown Tel Aviv ahead of a night of protests.
“Israelis are not all alike. There is a substantial part... that opposes the official policy,” he added amid the crowd of protesters, some of them carrying flags emblazoned with “681“, the number of days hostages have been held in Gaza.
Demonstrators also blocked roads in the city, including the highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where they set tires on fire, according to local media footage.
Israeli police said more than 30 protesters were arrested for disturbing public order.
Protest organisers and the main campaign group representing the families of hostages called for a general strike on Aug 17.
“I think it’s time to end the war. It’s time to release all the hostages. And it’s time to help Israel recover and move towards a more stable Middle East,” said Mr Doron Wilfand, a 54-year-old tour guide, at a rally in Jerusalem.
Mr Nentanyahu slammed the protesters, saying their actions “not only harden Hamas’ position and draw out the release of our hostages, but also ensure that the horrors of October 7 will reoccur”.
‘Shut down the country’
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said in a statement that protesters would “shut down the country today with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war”.
Their toll includes a soldier killed in a 2014 war whose remains are held by Hamas.
Recent videos released by Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad showing two weak and emaciated captives have heightened concern for the fate of the hostages.
“If we don’t bring them back now -– we will lose them forever,” the forum said.
Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce that would include hostage release, after the last round of talks in Qatar had ended without a breakthrough.
Some Israeli government members who oppose any deal with Hamas slammed the demonstrations.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decried “a perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas” and calls for “surrender”.
Culture Minister Miki Zohar, of Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party, said on X that blocking roads and disrupting daily life was “a reward to the enemy”.
Mr Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, condemned the government “attacking the families of the hostages” while “bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years”.
APTFV footage showed protesters in Beeri, a kibbutz near the Gaza border that was one of the hardest-hit communities in the Hamas attack, and Israeli media reported protests in numerous locations across the country.
Famine warnings
Israeli plans to expand the war into Gaza City and nearby refugee camps have sparked an international outcry and domestic opposition.
Israel’s Army Radio reported on Aug 17 that military chief Eyal Zamir was due to review the “plans to conquer Gaza City” in a meeting later in the day.
According to the report, residents would be evacuated before troops encircle the city and finally seize it, beginning “in the coming weeks”.
Tens of thousands of reserve soldiers would be called up for the mission, the report added.
Israel on Aug 16 said it was preparing “to move the population
United Nations-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire on Aug 17 killed at least seven Palestinians waiting to collect food aid near two sites.
Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,897 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the UN considers reliable. AFP
