Hundreds march silently through Tel Aviv streets
Hundreds of people have marched silently through the streets of Tel Aviv carrying 27 mock coffins to represent the 27 captives whose bodies have been recovered by the Israeli military in Gaza.
“Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, sentenced Carmel, my cousin, to death – her and all the hostages,” said Gil Dickmann, the cousin of Carmel Gat, one of six captives whose bodies were recovered last weekend.
“She was abandoned to her death by the government. [It] could have brought her back. Three hundred twenty-seven days she was there in Gaza in captivity. There were 327 opportunities to bring her back, and every single one was missed.”
In angry public statements, captives’ families have accused Netanyahu of blocking a ceasefire and sacrificing their loved ones’ lives for the sake of “achieving all the goals”.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in recent days, calling for a deal and saying time is running out to bring home the captives alive.
Relative urges Netanyahu gov’t to ‘seal the deal’ for captive release
Gadi Moses, a relative of a captive in Gaza, was one of the protesters to hit the streets of Tel Aviv on Thursday demanding a deal to return those held by Hamas. It was the fifth consecutive day of marches after the bodies of six captives were found last weekend.
“We all know that they were alive there and now they’re not. They came back in coffins,” said Moses.
“Twenty-one people already came back dead from Gaza. And you know we still have people there that are dead and need to be brought back to be buried in Israel. But still, we have many people alive and we shout for them that we get to seal the deal and bring them home before they’re dead, too.”
Protesters have blamed Prime Minister Netanyahu for failing to secure a truce deal and prisoner exchange with Hamas.
Israel officials hold security cabinet meeting over captive deaths
Prime Minister Netanyahu convened the security cabinet to discuss the government’s response to six Israeli captives found dead in Gaza last weekend.
According to broadcaster Channel 13, among those in attendance were Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
Some officials voiced opposition to immediate retaliatory actions, arguing the current circumstances were more conducive to negotiating a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, rather than pursuing military escalation.
The discussions also touched on the need to maintain control over the strategic Philadelphi Corridor, located along the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Netanyahu reportedly reiterated his refusal to withdraw Israeli forces from the Philadelphi Corridor. The refusal has stalled ceasefire negotiations with Hamas.
