Israeli protesters demand hostage release deal with Hamas

Crowds have gathered in Tel Aviv for a weekly rally to demand the Israeli government reach a deal that would return the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas are reportedly moving closer toward a ceasefire to end their 14-month war.

Senior officials from the US, Qatar and Egypt resumed their mediation efforts earlier this month and reported greater willingness by both sides to finalise an agreement.

“The State of Israel, of course, must return the living abductees, but not just them, it is also obligated to return those who are no longer alive,” said Ofek Shaul, the brother of Israeli soldier Oron Shaul who was killed in Israel’s 2014 war with Hamas and whose remains are still being held in Gaza.

“This is not only a moral and ethical obligation, it is the duty of the state in light of the values on which it was built.”

During Hamas’ surprise incursion into southern Israel in October last year, the militants killed at least 1,200 people and took around 250 others hostage and brought them to Gaza.

A previous truce in November last year saw more than 100 hostages released, exchanged for Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons.

Israel says around 100 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, but at least a third of them are believed to be dead.

“I am here today crying out not only for the kidnapped, not only for my father, but for my country. The wounded and bleeding country that needs light, that needs miracles. We need our trust and confidence restored,” said Ella Ben-Ami, the daughter of one of the hostages.

The weekly protests have also at times taken on a political dimension with some at the rallies demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu step down and call fresh elections.

They accuse him of prioritising his political survival over the lives of the hostages.

Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times.