Israel-Gaza war: anti-government protesters clash with Tel Aviv police and demand hostage deal
Scuffles between Israeli police and protesters have erupted in Tel Aviv after thousands gathered to demonstrate against the government and demand that it bring back the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meanwhile, a small US military vessel and what appeared to be a strip of docking area washed up on a beach near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on Saturday, not far from the US-built pier on which the Israeli military said humanitarian aid is moving into the Palestinian territory.
Some protesters in Tel Aviv carried photos of the female soldiers who appeared in a video earlier in the week showing them soon after they were abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. Some held banners reading, Stop the war and Help. They called on the government to reach a deal to release the dozens of hostages still in captivity.
ICJ ruling underlines risks for Israel as its isolation grows
Read more
The protesters also called for the resignation of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded new elections.
“We all saw the video, we could not stay at home after the government abandoned all these people,” said Hilit Sagi, from the group Women Protest for the Return of All Hostages.
Seven people were arrested at the protest late Saturday and at least one person was injured, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Protests also took place elsewhere around the country, including in the port city of Haifa, the paper wrote.
Protesters clash with police officers during a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
View image in fullscreen
Protesters clash with police officers during a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Photograph: Amir Levy/Getty Images
Divisions among Israelis have deepened over how Netanyahu has handled the war against Hamas after the attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Israel says around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
About 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, many of them women and children. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings and tens of thousands have been wounded.
“Basically they are not doing enough in order for the hostages to come back, either with military force, with [a] hostages’ deal, negotiating. Nothing is being done,” said Snir Dahan, uncle of hostage Carmel Gat, still in captivity in Gaza.
Earlier in the week, the bodies of three hostages were recovered from Gaza, Israel’s army said Friday. The army said they were killed on the day of the attack and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The announcement came less than a week after the army said it found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on 7 October.
Around half of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas and other militants have been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Netanyahu’s government has faced increasing pressure, both at home and abroad, to stop the war and allow humanitarian aid into the enclave that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, almost 80% of whom have been displaced.
This week, three European countries announced they would recognise a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials. dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg dsg
The post Israel-Gaza war: anti-government protesters clash with Tel Aviv police and demand hostage deal appeared first on The Muslim News.