Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
A split screen from the Kan public broadcaster shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the Knesset as the families of those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza hold signs, including one saying, "What if it was your brother?" and shout "Now, now, now" demanding the hostages' release. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Israel is making “every effort” to bring home the hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin says in the Knesset, stating that this effort requires “military pressure” to succeed.
“We won’t stop fighting,” he says during a special parliamentary session, also attended by families of the hostages, adding that “we need time.”
“We don’t have time,” one relative calls out from the Knesset gallery, after which the families chant “Now! Now! Now!,” demanding the immediate release of the hostages.
Netanyahu says he reached out to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to personally intervene on the hostages’ behalf and that his wife Sara had directly appealed to the pope.
Families of hostages held in Gaza protest during a speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset on December 25, 2023. The signs of those in the front read: “What if it was your daughter?” (Knesset Channel screenshot)
“We aren’t stopping and we won’t stop until victory because we have no other land and no other path,” he says, to boos from the hostages’ families.
Netanyahu visited troops in Gaza earlier today.
Families of hostages held in Gaza protest during a speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset on December 25, 2023 (Knesset Channel screenshot)
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Monday, December 25, 2023
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