Demonstrators in Tel Aviv call for release of captives in Gaza
Israelis are protesting in Tel Aviv to demand the release of the captives taken on October 7, 2023, just as Prime Minister Netanyahu said he’s ready for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Ifat Kalderon – whose cousin Ofer Kalderon has been held in Gaza for more than 400 days – called for a full ceasefire across Gaza – not just in the north – to ensure the captives’ safe return to Israel.
“I believe that Netanyahu has already forgotten them and gave up the hostages. And we keep hearing that the message it is sending to the US new government, to Trump, that we don’t have enough hostages alive so we don’t need to bring them back. So I’m calling Trump and everybody – we’ve got to bring them all back home,” Kalderon said.
Biden says he’ll push for Gaza ceasefire after Israel-Hezbollah deal
US President Joe Biden said his administration is pushing for a so-far elusive ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip, where Israel has been waging war for more than a year.
“The people of Gaza, they too deserve an end of the fighting and displacement. People of Gaza have been through hell,” he said in a televised address. “Far too many civilians in Gaza have suffered far too much.”
Biden blamed Hamas for the failure to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, but many observers suggest Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, has stymied the process by adding impossible demands to prolong his fragile political career.
The US president also said it’s possible Saudi Arabia and Israel could normalise ties.
