From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Protesters call for a hostage deal, block road, outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv
Protesters assemble outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv to demand that the Israeli government agree to a deal for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing allies warn against accepting the deal currently being negotiated in Cairo.
The demonstrators count to 207 to mark the days that the hostages have been held in captivity following the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
As the demonstration swells in size, protesters block Begin Road outside the Kirya.
The latest offer being negotiated in Cairo reportedly includes a 40-day pause in fighting and the release of almost a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for between 20-33 hostages.
Israel estimates that 129 of those hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November.
Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
