Gaza War: Thousands of Israelis demonstrate for the release of the hostages

Thousands of people have demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities for the release of all hostages that are still captured by Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “Six months ago I saw the sun again after 471 days in the tunnels of Hamas and I took a first breath that was not only out of fear,” said former Geisel Doron Steinbrecher as a speaker at the central rally in Tel Aviv a report by the newspaper “Times of Israel”.

“Now, six months later, I still can’t breathe without fear,” she added. “It takes time. And the first step is that everyone comes back.” The crowd moved from the so-called Geiselplatz in the center of Tel Aviv to the branch of the US message in Hajarkon-Straße on Saturday evening. In speech choirs, rally participants Donald Trump asked to put pressure on the Israeli head of government Benjamin Netanyahu to successfully put the indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas.

Negotiations in the Qatarian capital Doha have been rather slow for weeks. Diplomats from Qatar, Egypt and the USA act as an intermediary. Trump had announced in Washington the day before that ten hostages would be released “very soon”. But it was not immediately clear what his optimism was based on.

Mob attacks a MP of a MP

In NES Ziona, a suburb of Tel Aviv, a right -wing radical mob attacked the car of the Arabic Member of Parliament Aiman Auda. Videos that circulate on social media show how hurried people with fists and palms hit the vehicle. According to the politician, the windshield was damaged. He was unable to keep his planned speech on the local hostage solidarity demonstration because the police could not or did not want to protect him.

President Izchak Herzog and the German ambassador to Tel Aviv, Steffen Seibert, condemned violence against Auda.

According to official Israeli information, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still captured in the Gaza Strip, of which at least 20 should still be alive. In the course of the intended 60-day ceasefire, ten hostages are to be released and the remains of several deporters are to be handed over. In return, Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons. During the fire break, the conflict parties should then negotiate the end of the Gaza War and the release of the last hostages.