Hundreds march in Tel Aviv demanding hostage deal after IDF killed 3 in tragic error
‘Their time is running out! Bring them home now!’ demonstrators chant as they rally at army HQ; Mossad chief said headed to Europe to discuss new hostage agreement with Qatari PM
Large crowds amassed late Friday in Tel Aviv for a flash protest urging the government to take the initiative to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, after the army announced it mistakenly killed three hostages escaping their captors in Gaza.
The demonstrators blocked traffic at the Kaplan Junction as they marched toward the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters, where they called for a new agreement to return the remaining hostages who were kidnapped during the Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel on October 7.
“Their time is running out! Bring them home now!” the crowd was heard chanting. “There is no victory until every last hostage is released!”
The father of Liri Albag, 18, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists, said negotiations to bring back the hostages should be held as the army continues fighting in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s a tough day. It’s hard for us every time that hostages return home in coffins,” Eli Albag told the Kan public broadcaster.
“Our hearts are also with the soldiers,” he added, stressing the recognition that the fatal shooting of the three hostages was a tragic mistake.
But Ori, whose cousin Itay Svirsky is believed to be held hostage, urged a halt to the fighting.
“The State of Israel and its leaders are acting as if they gave up on the hostages. We are getting all the hostages [back] as bodies. They are dying. They are dying in bombings, failed rescue operations and from our forces’ fire even when they succeed in escaping,” he told the Haaretz daily, rejecting the argument that the military offensive will help pressure Hamas to release hostages.
“We demand that the Israeli government be prepared to pay the price and put the hostages at the top of the agenda.”
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum announced it would hold a press conference at Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostages Square on Saturday “following the terrible disaster” in which Yotam Haim, Samar Fouad Talalka and Alon Shamriz were killed.
According to IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, troops in northern Gaza’s Shejaiya neighborhood identified the three as a threat and opened fire at them, killing them. Hagari said the IDF bears full responsibility for the “tragic incident,” which took place on Friday morning, “in an area where the soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers.”
Anger among the hostage families has mounted in recent days following reports that the government has been holding off on initiating a hostage deal proposal with Hamas on the grounds that it believes that only continued IDF operations in Gaza will bring the terror group to its knees and back to the table with an offer Israel could accept.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly barred Mossad chief David Barnea from traveling to Qatar for that reason earlier this week.
However, the Walla news site reported that Netanyahu has since changed his mind and agreed to dispatch Barnea to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend to discuss resuming negotiations toward another hostage deal.
Citing an Israeli source, the report said Israel was prepared to discuss a deal for the release of the remaining female hostages.
It is believed that 132 hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops.
The bodies of eight hostages have been recovered, and the IDF has confirmed the deaths of 20 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
IDF forces have been battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip since late October. War erupted after the terror group’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 hostages of all ages, mostly civilians.
In response, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas, and launched a wide-scale offensive in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has claimed that more than 18,800 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. However, the number cannot be independently verified and is believed to include some 7,000 Hamas and Hamas-affiliated terror operatives as well as civilians killed by misfired Palestinian rockets.
Agencies contributed to this report.
