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SvennoJ on 15 June 2024
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Demonstrators arrested outside Israeli PM Netanyahu’s residence

The Israel Broadcasting Corporation has published video footage of a demonstration in front of the family home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s coastal Caesarea town.

The broadcaster said that the Israeli police arrested at least five people, who were protesting against Netanyahu’s policies, including on getting a deal with Hamas for the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.

Those detained were arrested for causing “unreasonable noise”, the report added.

Freed Israeli captive calls for more protests

An Israeli captive freed during the attack on Nuseirat refugee camp is calling for more protests, demanding that the remaining captives in Gaza be released.

“I’m already in Israel at home but lots of hostages are still there in Gaza,” Andrey Kozlov said in a video address. “I saw a lot of rallies on Saturday and it gave me a lot of hope. I ask you to come and support families and hostages.”

Commenting on Kozlov’s call, Hassan Barari, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University, said the former captive knew the difficulties of rescuing the remaining captives by force.

“This man who was in captivity for 250 days. He realised it was impossible for the Israelis to deliver anyone militarily speaking … there’s no way to reach them,” Barari said.

He added Israeli forces have occupied some 90 percent of Gaza and have still failed to locate the captives, “let alone liberate them”.

“[The right-wing Israeli government] made it perfectly clear time and time again that liberating hostages is not their priority; they just want to continue the war,” he said. “This does not resonate well with Israelis and now we see more people taking to the streets. This call from the former captive will only add to Netanyahu’s predicament.”

Islamic Jihad says captive deal can only happen after Israel’s withdrawal

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, al-Quds Brigades, says the only way to return the remaining captives held in Gaza is through Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.

According to Israeli tallies, there are 116 captives left in Gaza out of 250 taken during the Hamas-led attack on October 7. More than 100 were released in exchange for about 240 Palestinians held in Israeli jails during a truce in November. Four captives were also rescued last week during an Israeli operation in Nuseirat.

At least 40 of those still in Gaza have been declared dead in absentia by Israel.

Earlier this week, Hamas responded to a ceasefire proposal by the United States and requested amendments for it to proceed. Among the requests are the reconstruction of Gaza, the lifting of the Israeli blockade, allowing the movement of people and transporting goods without restrictions.