An estimated 750,000 Israelis have taken to the streets in one of Israel’s biggest-ever protests as they demanded that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strike a deal to free remaining captives in Gaza.
The record number of demonstrators comes a week after the Israeli Army announced it had recovered the bodies of six captives from a tunnel in southern Gaza.
Family members of Israeli captives and groups representing them blame Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government for failing to secure a truce deal that would secure their release.
More than 100 captives still remain in Gaza, but about one-third of them are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli military.
A total of 105 captives were released by Hamas in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons as part of a deal in November.
The Palestinians fighters led by Hamas took about 240 people captive in the wake of attack in southern Israel on October 7.
Israel has also killed more than 600 people in the occupied West Bank and detained nearly 10,000 Palestinians.
Record number of protesters Organisers say 500,000 people attended rallies in Tel Aviv, and 250,000 others joined rallies in towns elsewhere in the country.
But what kind of forgiveness is that if you do not intend to change your ways?” before adding, “We will not forgive”.
You do see a rising number of Israelis wanting this to end whether they are in the streets or not,” she said.
In one of the largest demonstrations in Israeli history, an estimated 750,000 people took to the streets to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration to reach an agreement to release the last captives in Gaza.
A week after the Israeli Army declared it had found the bodies of six captives in a tunnel in southern Gaza, there are a record number of demonstrators.
Families of Israeli prisoners and organizations that advocate for them hold Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his administration accountable for their failure to broker a cease-fire agreement that would have guaranteed their release.
The Israeli military claims that of the over 100 captives who are still in Gaza, roughly one-third are thought to be dead. As part of a November agreement, Hamas released 105 prisoners in total in exchange for 240 Palestinian inmates detained in Israeli prisons.
About 240 people were taken prisoner by Hamas-led Palestinian fighters following an attack in southern Israel on October 7. In the attack, at least 1,139 people lost their lives.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has been widely condemned worldwide, has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians and the destruction of large areas of the coastal enclave. Additionally, Israel has imprisoned close to 10,000 Palestinians and killed over 600 people in the occupied West Bank.
Protesters in record numbers.
According to organizers, 500,000 people showed up for rallies in Tel Aviv, and an additional 250,000 people joined events in other cities across the nation.
The majority of protestors, according to Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, Jordan, because the network has been prohibited from entering Israel by the government, say they will not stop until the government heeds their demands and modifies its policies.
“Record-breaking numbers have turned out for the past week’s protests, but Netanyahu insists that military action is still the best option to free the remaining prisoners, and a deal to effect their release is still far off,” Salhut wrote.
“Mr. Prime Minister, a few days ago, in front of the families of the captives and said, sorry that we’re not able to bring them back alive,” said Danielle Aloni, a freed captive, during her speech at the rally on Saturday night in Tel Aviv. “But what kind of forgiveness is that if you’re not going to change your ways?” followed by “We won’t forgive.”.
More and more Israelis are realizing that a permanent ceasefire is the only solution, according to Libby Lenkinski, vice president for public engagement at the New Israel Fund.
Since October of last year, there have been an average of 113 protests in Israel per month, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
In an interview from New York, Lenkinski told Al Jazeera, “I think that number has been growing in a pretty steady way. There were groups of protesters calling for a ceasefire as early as November and December [last year].”.
Since a ceasefire is the only way the captives will actually return to Israel, more Israelis are protesting, according to her, and the number of protestors has “grown pretty dramatically in the past week.”.
“I believe that protesters now have a fairly common understanding of that. She observed that an increasing number of Israelis, whether or not they are in the streets, want this to stop.
