War doesn’t bring captives back, says captive’s mother
A mother of an Israeli captive held in Gaza has called for mass protest on Saturday aimed at ending the war and getting the captives released.
Einav Zangauker, mother of Israeli captive Matan, said, “War does not bring hostages back – it kills them.”
She called for a mass protest in Tel Aviv, asking protesters to continue standing outside the defence headquarters, where Netanyahu holds security briefings, after the usual demonstration.
“Everything we feared and warned about is happening,” she said. “Netanyahu is violating the agreement and dragging us back into war. The army is already preparing. We must not let this happen.”
Israeli gunfire kills Palestinian near Deir el-Balah
Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian near Deir el-Balah, report our colleagues on the ground.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, acknowledged shooting a person in southern Gaza, saying the individual was approaching its soldiers and posed an “imminent threat”.
The incidents come after a spate of Israeli attacks on Gaza yesterday, including a strike in central Rafah that killed two people.
Israeli gunfire wounds child near Rafah
The attack, which wounded the child, took place in eastern Rafah’s Jenina neighbourhood, according to our colleagues on the ground.
It is at least the second time Israeli forces shoot at Palestinians in Gaza today. One person was killed by gunfire near Deir el-Balah earlier.
Guterres says Gaza truce ‘commitments must be upheld’
In a post on X, the UN chief says there has been “a meaningful improvement with the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal” in the last few weeks.
He added: “Commitments must be upheld & implemented in full. Serious negotiations for the ceasefire in all its facets must be resumed without delay.”
Isreal has so far been reluctant to commit to full negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire, opting instead to press on trying to convince Hamas to extend phase one, which expired last week, and release more Israeli captives from Gaza.
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