Israeli PM Netanyahu holds urgent consultations over prisoner exchange while protests grow over war’s toll.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening a limited consultation session today to discuss the developments in ongoing talks for a prisoner exchange with Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza. The discussions come amid rising pressure both domestically and internationally to end the brutal assault on Gaza, which has been widely condemned as a form of genocide.
Among those attending the consultations will be Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The Israeli Army Radio reported that Netanyahu is calling for urgent security talks, coinciding with progress in the negotiations for a potential ceasefire and prisoner swap.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Mossad chief David Barnea is expected to travel to Qatar to engage in further talks aimed at finalizing an agreement for a prisoner exchange.
Despite these efforts, Israeli officials have made it clear that the priority remains the destruction of Hamas, rather than securing the release of prisoners. A report by Haaretz cited a negotiator’s admission that the Israeli government views the eradication of Hamas as more important than rescuing its prisoners held by Palestinian factions in Gaza.
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Israeli Protests Mount
Tensions have also boiled over on the streets of Israel, where large number of people have taken to the streets to protest the ongoing war. In particular, families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza have voiced strong opposition to the government’s handling of the situation. Many protesters are calling for a ceasefire and an immediate end to the ongoing bombardment of Gaza, which has been described by human rights groups as genocide.
A previous march by families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza toward Netanyahu’s office symbolized the growing frustration with the lack of urgency in bringing the captives home.
Israeli Prisoners in Gaza
A video released by Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, has brought further attention to Israeli prisoners in Gaza. In a strong message, Israeli soldier Liri Albag, held captive for over 450 days, described the horrors she and fellow captives endure. Speaking to her family and the Israeli government, she expressed despair over her situation, stating that she and others were no longer a priority for their government.
Albag’s words — “We are not on the priority list of our government or army” — echo the sentiment of many families of prisoners, who feel abandoned in the face of the ongoing Israeli war. She questioned whether the war would have continued if those in captivity were the loved ones of Israeli leaders.
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Gaza Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,805 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,064 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
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Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(The Palestine Chronicle, AJA)
Bullsh!t.