From the Liveblog of
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Grandfather of hostage to PM: ‘Do you think of Naama, afraid in some dank tunnel?’
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Speaking before the thousand-strong crowd at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Amnon Shahar, grandfather of captive soldier Naama Levy, addresses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Do you think of Naama, afraid, in some dank tunnel?”
“And then what, Bibi? Do you bottle it up? Do you tell yourself you have to ignore the suffering to save the people of Israel?” he continues. “Do you not feel the cold terror creeping into your heart, that you may be bringing about the end of the people of Israel in Zion?”
Shahar says Israel has secured a military victory in Gaza, but that the victory is meaningless while the hostages are there: “Make this victory complete.”
Tami Baruch, mother of slain hostage Sahar Baruch, says the family should have marked his 26th Hebrew birthday today.
“Sahar was murdered in captivity when he was so young,” she says. She describes him as a compassionate soul, ever eager to share his love of fantasy literature with his younger brother. “Sahar, the boy with the long hair, donated his hair when he joined the army,” she says.
In between speeches, the crowd chants: “You’re not alone! We’re with you!”
Before the rally ends with “Hatikva,” the national anthem, actor Lior Ashkenzai, who regularly emcees the rallies, thanks the outgoing and incoming US administrations for their advocacy for the hostages.
Nearby anti-government rallies at the Begin Road entry to the IDF headquarters and the Begin-Kaplan interchange have largely dispersed.
The latter demonstration — an encore of the 2023 protests against the judicial overhaul — drew more than 1,000 people; now, just a few dozen far-left protesters are left. They wave Antifa flags and chant slogans urging IDF soldiers to “refuse the massacre.”
They are briefly disrupted by a handful of far-right youth, who hurl obscenities at the protesters. A shouting match ensues, and police intercede. The far-right youth retreat and the leftists close up shop.
On the road in front of the IDF headquarters’ Begin Road entrance, a modest bonfire still flickers. Channel 12 reports that there were clashes between police and protesters here. However, a group representing people detained at anti-government protests has not reported any arrests.
The Times of Israel Community.