From the Liveblog of
Monday, April 22, 2024
Protesters ignite ‘non-Seder’ table outside Netanyahu’s Caesarea home, demanding hostage deal
Anti-government protesters hold a “non-Seder” outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea as Israelis bring in the Passover holiday, calling for an immediate hostage release deal and the government’s resignation.
“It’s quite significant to see so many people skipping their traditional celebratory family holiday and instead showing up and standing beside the families of the hostages, demanding an immediate release deal,” the Pro-Democracy Movement says in a statement ahead of the event.
משפחות חטופים, יחד עם אלפי ישראלים, עורכים ליל אי-סדר מול הוילה של נתניהו מחריב ישראל בקיסריה, בדרישה (משותפיו של נתניהו) לחירות עכשיו ????️????????
תצטרפו אליהם! – הדר (צפוני) קיסריהצילום: גיל לוין@DanNoam26949 @Kulanu_Hatufim @elgarat_dani pic.twitter.com/lFMWaygPge
— Nava Rozolyo נאווה רוזוליו (@rozolyo) April 22, 2024
Ayala Metzger, whose father-in-law Yoram Metzger, 80, has been held by terror groups in Gaza since October 7, counts with the crowd to 199, marking the days since thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst into Israel, murdering some 1,200 people and kidnapping another 253 to Gaza, mostly civilians.
With chants of “Bring them home now!” the protesters splash red paint on their “non-Seder” table instead of the traditional red wine spilled when recalling the Ten Plagues during the reading of the Haggadah.
At the end of the ceremony, protesters set fire to a symbolic Seder table amid chants of “Deal now!”
It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 12 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 34 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
