Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated Saturday in the city of Rehovot, near Tel Aviv, demanding a hostage exchange deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza, according to Israeli media.
Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated at the Science Park intersection in the city, demanding a hostage exchange deal, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
According to the newspaper, the protesters demanded a deal to release the hostages, calling on the government to return power to the people and hold early elections.
Egypt, Qatar and the US have been trying for months to secure a ceasefire and the release of the 120 remaining hostages in Gaza, but to no avail.
The Palestinian group Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza. Israel, however, says it will only accept temporary pauses in fighting and wants to end the resistance group’s governance capabilities.
US President Joe Biden announced a three-phase ceasefire plan in May, which includes the gradual release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. It also provides for the release of Palestinian prisoners and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Israel, in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal assault on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 88,000 injured, according to local health authorities.
More than nine months after the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from war before its May 6 invasion.
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