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SvennoJ on 01 September 2024
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Families of captives denounce Netanyahu’s government

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the six captives whose bodies were retrieved from Gaza would be alive had Netanyahu’s government signed a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

“For 11 months, the Israeli government led by Netanyahu has failed to do what a government is expected to do – return its sons and daughters home. A deal for the return of the hostages has been on the table for over two months,” the group said in a post on X.

“If it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin, the hostages whose deaths we learned of this morning would probably be alive.”

The group added: “Netanyahu: enough of the excuses. Enough of the spin. Enough of the abandonment. The time has come to bring our hostages home – those living for rehabilitation and the fallen and murdered for burial in their land.”


Netanyahu’s refusal to sign truce deal costing lives of Israeli captives

Menachem Klein, professor of political science at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, said many Israelis are “desperate for a deal” to end the war in the Gaza Strip and bring home the remaining captives held by Hamas.

“I assume we will see more protests this morning following the very sad news coming out of Gaza,” Klein told Al Jazeera, referring to the military’s retrieval of the bodies of six more captives.

“People are tired, almost desperate for a deal. They cry to the government to listen to them,” Klein said. He blamed Netanyahu and his cabinet for “refusing” to strike a deal to secure the release of the captives, a move he said had “signed [the Israeli captives’] death sentence”. “Israel refuses to come down to reality,” he added. “That’s the problem.  And it cost the life of Israeli hostages.”


Israeli protesters block junction near Tel Aviv

Families and supporters of Israeli captives still held in Gaza have again taken to the streets demanding a deal to secure the release of those remaining in Hamas captivity.

The protest – organised by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum – follows the Israeli military’s announcement that it retrieved the bodies of six more captives from Gaza.

Footage shared online, and verified by Al Jazeera, shows the protesters holding Israeli flags and placards with images of the captives as they rallied at a major junction in Rehovot, some 20km (12 miles) from Tel Aviv.

The videos also show Israeli police trying to pull up some of the protesters who had staged a sit-in and were blocking traffic.