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.”

מטה משפחות החטופים מרכין ראש על הירצחם בשבי של אורי דנינו, אלכס לובנוב, אלמוג סרוסי, הירש גולדברג פולין, כרמל גת ועדן ירושלמי ז״ל.

בצער רב אנו שוב מודיעים על הירצחם של 6 חטופים וחטופות. 6 אנשים ונשים שנחטפו בחיים ושרדו את התופת בשבי ונרצחו בדם קר.

במשך 11 חודשים ממשלת ישראל… pic.twitter.com/rvCUnHRCiy

— מטה המשפחות להחזרת החטופים והנעדרים (@BringThemHome23) September 1, 2024

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

חוסמים את הרצל רחובות pic.twitter.com/CAderQFUfH

— Ayelet Dayan (@AyeletDayan) September 1, 2024

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.

מתיישבים pic.twitter.com/CLyGIGd8Yn

— Ayelet Dayan (@AyeletDayan) September 1, 2024

Gallant calls on security cabinet to reverse Philadelphi Corridor decision

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has called on the security cabinet to reverse its decision to maintain Israeli military presence along Gaza’s Philadelphi Corridor, a position he believes is obstructing a ceasefire deal.

Gallant, who on Thursday cast the security cabinet’s sole vote against the military’s plan for the corridor, said in a post on X that Israel must prioritise the return of the remaining captives.

However, addressing the discovery of six dead Israeli captives in Gaza, he also pledged that Israel “will hold every leader and murderer of Hamas accountable, down to the last one”.

Hamas blames Israel for death of 6 captives

Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq says the six Israeli captives found dead in a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday were killed in Israeli air strikes.

Al-Risheq also blamed the United States for its “bias, support and partnership” in the 11-month war on the besieged territory. One of the captives was a dual US-Israeli citizen, while another was Russian-Israeli.

The official stated that Hamas cares more about the lives of its prisoners than Biden does, emphasising that the group had accepted his proposal and the UN Security Council resolution.

Netanyahu rejected the proposal and the resolution and his administration conceded to the PM’s demands, which were intended to obstruct reaching an agreement to maintain his power, al-Risheq said.

Netanyahu vows to ‘pursue’ Hamas leaders after death of 6 captives

Netanyahu says Israel would continue to “pursue” Hamas leaders responsible for the killing of six Israeli captives whose bodies were recovered in a tunnel in southern Gaza on Saturday.

“We will get you and we will bring you to account,” Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that Israel remains committed to achieving a deal to release remaining captives. “Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal.”

However, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Netanyahu should take responsibility for the deaths.

“Take responsibility for your mistakes. Take responsibility for the sabotage. Take responsibility for the abandonment,” the group of families and supporters of captives held by Hamas said in response to the statement.

On Sunday, a senior Hamas official said the six captives were killed as a result of ongoing Israeli air strikes. Earlier this year, seven captives died as a result of Israel’s bombardment of the besieged enclave, the Palestinian group said.

Captives’ relatives plan mass rallies today in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

As we’ve been reporting, major protests are expected in Israel today after the discovery of the bodies of six captives in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing Israeli captives in Gaza, has called for the “entire nation” to join the pro-ceasefire demonstrations.

Two major rallies will take place later today at a public square in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’s Begin Gate, according to the group.

Their call builds on months of antigovernment protests, driven by relatives of captives who are angered by the government’s failure to have them released.

At one protest outside the Israeli military’s headquarters in Tel Aviv yesterday, the mother of one captive accused Netanyahu of committing a crime “against the state of Israel”.

“Netanyahu is not Mr Security, he is Mr Death,” said Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker, in comments carried by The Times of Israel. “He [Netanyahu] is undermining the deal in cold blood.”

TODAY, The Families will Bring the Nation to a Halt

As Foot-Dragging Continues, Hostages Are Dying

After 11 months of neglect of 107 hostages, the Hostages Families Forum call on the public to join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete halt of the country and the… pic.twitter.com/fSnO1dct2E

— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) September 1, 2024

Israeli minister pushes back on criticism of gov’t handling of captives issue

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has shared his condolences with the families of the captives found dead by Israeli forces in southern Gaza but pushed back against criticism levelled at the government for the absence of a ceasefire deal.

“Unfortunately, I see the disturbing statements from the left, which accuse the Israeli government of murdering the hostages. To be clear: The terrorist organisation Hamas, and only Hamas, killed the hostages,” Ben-Gvir wrote in a statement on X.

Hamas said earlier that the captives were killed due to an Israeli air strike.

"Hamas blame Israel" I don't think so. Israel isn't going to stop until every last Hamas is dead now.  If Hamas cares about Palestine, they should all surrender now accept execution and this war can end.

UN chief calls for release of all captives, end to war

UN chief Antonio Guterres has reiterated the need for an “unconditional release” of captives held in Gaza and an end to the war following the news of six captives being found dead in southern Gaza.

“I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostage families. Today’s tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza,” he wrote on X.

The body of Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, was among those retrieved by the Israeli army on Saturday.

Givatayim mayor declares strike, calls on others to join

The mayor of Givatayim, an Israeli city east of Tel Aviv, has declared a general strike on Monday to demand the return of Israeli captives still held in Gaza while calling on other mayors to join him.

“The idea that military pressure will return hostages has collapsed,” the mayor said.

Earlier, opposition leader Yair Lapid had called for a strike in response to the death of six Israeli captives whose bodies were found on Saturday in Rafah and amid mounting pressure on Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal.

Tel Aviv mayor says munipality will join Monday’s strike

Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai says the municipality will join tomorrow’s strike in support of the families of the captives.

“The Israeli government abandoned them, but the State of Israel is us. As a sign of solidarity with the abductees and their families, the municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa joins the strike,” Huldai wrote on X.

“Tomorrow, starting in the morning until noon, there will be no public reception and we will allow all female and male employees to go out and support the families’ struggle. Take to the streets.”

Will the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza succeed?

Chessa Latifi, the deputy director of emergency preparedness and response at Project HOPE, said war, forced displacement and the breakdown of the healthcare system in Gaza could hinder the upcoming vaccination drive.

“I believe it’s going to be really unlikely for the vaccine campaign to reach the 90 percent of children that need to be vaccinated,” Latifi said from Los Angeles.

“There’s just no guarantee of safety. These people that need to bring their children to these clinics – first of all, do they have access to the clinics? Do they have fuel or the means to get to the clinics? Is it safe? Is it safe for the staff to get to the clinics? I know that we’ve got these brief humanitarian pauses. But is it sufficient? No,” she said.

Latifi, whose organisation operates in Gaza, also said the vaccine drive alone will not help prevent the spread of the virus.

“The vaccine campaign doesn’t address the core issue, which is the lack of hygiene, sanitation and clean water,” she said. “Because if we had those components – the clean water, the proper facilities for bathing and latrines – we wouldn’t have polio. But this infrastructure has been completely destroyed. You have people living in these ad hoc camps. It’s a really really dangerous situation.”

Maybe it will slow it down, but under these conditions there's no way of vaccinating 90% of Gaza's children, well over half a million children.

Polio vaccination programme ‘imperative’ in Gaza

Saleem Oweis, UNICEF spokesman for the Middle East and North Africa, said he hopes that the pauses in fighting to deliver the polio vaccination programme in Gaza will be “sufficient” to cover the “over 600,000 children that need to be vaccinated”.

“Polio is a highly contagious disease. The outcome is really grim – it is either paralysis or death. In these contexts, in Gaza, crowded as it is, with all the lack of basic health systems and hygiene supplies and water and all as such, it’s going to prove to be catastrophic,” Oweis told Al Jazeera.

He added that it was “imperative” to have the vaccination programme now because there is “no other option than vaccinations”.

“Polio can’t be treated, but it can be prevented and that ‘s where we need to put all the effort now and that’s what we’re trying to do and that’s why we really need this pause commitment to take place.”

First phase of polio vaccine campaign begins in central Gaza

_{Palestinian children wait to be vaccinated against polio, at a United Nations healthcare centre in Deir el-Balah, September 1}

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a list of clinics, schools and other locations in central Gaza where children under the age of 10 can receive polio vaccines, beginning from 7:30am local time today.

“Even if your children have been vaccinated previously, bring them to the nearest vaccination point to get the emergency dose and protect them from the virus,” the WHO said in a post on X.

“Vaccination is free and safe.”

Another post in Arabic shared further details, including the times the clinics will be open.

🚨Polio vaccination campaign begins in #Gaza tomorrow.

We must do everything possible to ensure all children under ten years of age receive the vaccination.

Here's where to take your children for vaccination in central Gaza ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bmqMcntrpl

— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) August 31, 2024

The vaccine is safe, yet the IDF likes to bomb healthcare facilities and aid workers...

Polio vaccination campaign officially begins: Gaza health official

Three health centres in Gaza have begun delivering polio vaccines to children on the first day of the campaign’s official rollout, according to a local health official quoted by AFP. The campaign began at 9am (06:00 GMT) for children aged 10 and under, said Yasser Shaaban, medical director of al-Awda Hospital.

“There are a lot of drones flying over central Gaza and we hope this vaccination campaign for children will be calm,” said Shaaban.

The WHO said Israel has committed to daily pauses in fighting in areas where vaccines are being distributed in southern, central and northern Gaza, but PM Netanyahu has stressed such pauses do not amount to a full ceasefire during the rollout.

_{Palestinians gather for a polio vaccination campaign, at a UN health centre in Deir el-Balah, September 1}


Drones hover over Deir el-Balah amid polio vaccination campaign

Parents have been bringing their children to medical points across Deir el-Balah this morning, lining them up in order to get vaccinated. Deir el-Balah has a high population, with many displaced families trapped here.

Workers are doing their best to deal with the high number of children needing vaccination.

Parents believe the vaccine will provide some protection for their children, whom they have struggled to protect since day one of the fighting, but not from bombardment.

Strangely, Israeli drones are hovering over Deir el-Balah, even though it is an area designated to be under a humanitarian pause. We have also heard loud explosions in the eastern area of Bureij in central Gaza, which has been excluded from the vaccination campaign and a humanitarian pause.

Vaccines being delivered in 28 UN-run facilities in central Gaza: UNRWA

More than 200 medical teams in central Gaza are helping deliver polio vaccines today in 28 UN-run health facilities, according to UNRWA.

The campaign, planned for at least three days, aims to vaccinate some 600,000 children in the enclave, but analysts have expressed concern whether the target can be met due to insecurity and limited mobility.

Children in #Gaza have started receiving polio vaccines this morning. This is today in Nuseirat.

The vaccination campaign has begun in the Gaza middle area, where over 200 of our teams are administrating vaccines in 28 @UNRWA health facilities and going tent to tent#UNRWAworks pic.twitter.com/xkZtVxDOCJ

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 1, 2024

Two killed in Gaza City drone attack

The polio vaccination campaign is ongoing in Deir el-Balah. And we can hear loud explosions from other areas in central Gaza. People are coming from distant areas of Deir el-Balah to vaccinate their children. It means they are risking their lives.

In the eastern side of Bureij in central Gaza, a Palestinian man has been killed by artillery bombardment. In Gaza City, two Palestinians have been killed by a drone that targeted a group of people near an amusement park.

There is no respite from Israeli bombardment.

Children in Gaza ‘starving’, their health ‘deteriorating’

As we’ve been reporting, a polio vaccination campaign has been launched in Gaza. Parents are parents taking their children to health centres for the vaccination amid Israeli strikes across the besieged enclave.

“I’ve come here [to a health centre] to have my children vaccinated against polio,” Rehan Farra, a Palestinian parent, said. “I fear for my children as the Gaza Strip is disease-stricken. We live in fear under Israel’s ruthless bombardment, surrounded by nothing but death and destruction.

“Above all, Gaza’s children are starving. In the past, we used to feed them healthy and nutritious food, with lots of protein and vitamins. Now, we are living on the handouts. Even the water we drink is contaminated. My child fell sick on a number of occasions because of the unclean water we drink. Their health is generally deteriorating.”

Fire breaks out at Jenin market amid Israeli raid

Israeli forces set fire to fruit and vegetable stalls at a market in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the Anadolu news agency reported.

The fire came as Palestinians in Jenin are already facing food shortages as Israeli military vehicles besieged the city and refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank. Palestinians stall holders tried to salvage what they could as the fire burned.

An Israeli military bulldozer was seen at the scene as the fire still burned.

Israeli forces arrest 6 Palestinians in Hebron

The Wafa news agency is reporting that the six arrested in the occupied West Bank included three women. They were rounded up from the city of Hebron and nearby Halhul and Yatta, all in the Hebron governorate.

Israeli forces also arrested another young man during a raid on the Askar camp near the city of Nablus earlier in the morning, according to Wafa. And as we reported earlier, the soldiers shot a 17-year-old in the back during that raid.

The arrests come as Israel’s military also continues its deadly raid on northern areas in the occupied West Bank, including the Jenin refugee camp. Israeli forces have killed at least 24 people since the operation began on Wednesday.

Two Israelis killed in West Bank attack

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said a man and a woman in their 30s have been shot dead at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

The rescue service said a third person, a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital in serious condition. The Israeli military, in a post on X, said it has launched a search for the attackers.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv meanwhile reported that all victims were police and border guards. It says Israeli ambulances were on the scene and that the military has sent reinforcements to the area.