Protests outside the headquarters of Netanyahu’s party in Tel Aviv
Dozens of family members and supporters of Israeli captives have gathered outside the headquarters of Netanyahu’s Likud party in Tel Aviv, according to The Times of Israel. The protesters are holding a banner that reads, “The cabinet of death is killing the hostages. The people demand they return alive,” the newspaper reported.
Uri Sela, an Israeli reporter at the scene, posted a video of the protest, showing demonstrators holding up large cutouts of the faces of the six captives whose bodies were recovered from Gaza on Saturday.
כעת מול מצודת זאב - משפחות חטופים ומפגינות ממחאת הנשים קוראים לעסקה: ״קבינט המוות הורג את החטופים. הציבור דורש חיים״ pic.twitter.com/DE3gk3cWwE
— אורי סלע Uri Sela (@uri_sela) September 4, 2024
Translation – Gal Goren, the son of Avner and Maya Goren: “Netanyahu has officially become Mr Death and Bereavement. You had a chance to make amends, but when you appeared in front of the cameras, you chose not to take responsibility. You offered an empty apology and lies about why you are sentencing the abductees to death.”
Israeli minister says halt negotiations, cut off Gaza’s fuel and electricity
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says the government should “stop negotiating” with Hamas and cut off fuel and electricity to Gaza.
“A country whose six hostages were murdered in cold blood does not negotiate with the killers but rather halts the negotiations, stops providing them with fuel and electricity, and crushes them until their defeat,” he said in a post on X.
“Continuing negotiations only encourages them to produce more and more terror.”
Israel has accused Hamas of murdering six captives found in a Gaza tunnel on Monday, saying they were alive days before the military’s rescue operation and were killed as forces got close.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Al Jazeera it was not clear how the six captives had died, saying the group was awaiting details from Hamas’s forces on the ground.
Jordan, Kuwait condemn Netanyahu’s smuggling accusations against Egypt
Jordan and Kuwait have joined a list of Arab countries defending Egypt against Israel’s PM Netanyahu’s accusations that Cairo is smuggling weapons to Hamas.
In a statement, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said the allegations were “baseless” and intended to obstruct ongoing ceasefire negotiations, in which Egypt is a key mediator.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council also condemned the statements by Netanyahu, who has insisted on a continued Israeli presence at a corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border.
Former negotiator says Netanyahu obstructing ceasefire deal
A former Israeli negotiator has said that while a quick deal with Hamas is possible to end the war, Netanyahu is intentionally obstructing it by insisting on Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor, which he called a “ploy”.
“I’ve talked to numerous military personnel in Israel who all agree that this war could end in three weeks,” Gershon Baskin said.
“Hamas told me in private conversations that, if the war ends in three weeks, they would be willing to release all the Israeli hostages. Of course, they are demanding that Israel release a significant number of Palestinian prisoners. But it’s a deal that can be made.”
The majority of Israelis, he added, would favour such a deal, as their top priority is bringing home the captives.
“But the society is very divided,” he added. “There are those [in Israel] who believe that if we bring the hostages home and make a deal with Hamas we are just inviting another October 7. And there’s a great deal of fear.”
