Families of Israeli captives currently held in Gaza gathered in the center of Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand the government to conclude an exchange deal, Israeli media reported.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported that “hundreds of families of the hostages in Gaza gathered in central Tel Aviv to demand the government to immediately conclude a deal to release them.”
According to the channel, the families affirmed that they are “ready to escalate their protests at any moment to exert pressure on the government to negotiate a deal with Hamas in Gaza.”
🇮🇱 Protests in Tel Aviv for Hostages to Come Home
Families of Israeli hostages protested in Tel Aviv, rejecting Netanyahu’s policy and demanding a prisoner exchange deal with the resistance. pic.twitter.com/baESpv8mTB
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 24, 2023
Israel maintains that dozens of Israelis are still held in Gaza by the Palestinian Resistance groups, following their military operation in southern Israel on October 7.
The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has called for the release of all Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of the remaining captives. Moreover, Hamas has made it clear that no agreement can be reached without a comprehensive and long-term ceasefire.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 20,424 Palestinians have been killed, and 54,036 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
An Israeli captive who was released from the Gaza Strip praised the good treatment she received from her guards from the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas.https://t.co/BMq3RvAxOc pic.twitter.com/BY4qUSmGgt
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 24, 2023
Around 80 Israeli captives, some of whom held dual citizenship, were released during a one-week truce from November 24 to December 1 in a series of prisoner exchange deals between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli government, which also saw the release of over 200 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
