Hundreds march in flash protest in Tel Aviv calling for gov’t initiative for hostages’ release

Large crowds have amassed at the Kaplan Junction in Tel Aviv and have blocked off the road to traffic as they march toward the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in a flash protest calling for the government to take the initiative to secure the release of the hostages, after the IDF’s mistakenly killed three of them earlier today in Gaza.

“Their time is running out! Bring them home now!” the crowd is heard chanting. “There is no victory until every last hostage is released!”

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, Axios reports that Netanyahu has since changed his mind and has 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.