‘We want them alive!’ Hundreds rally for hostage deal outside PM’s residence in Jerusalem

Hundreds of demonstrators are chanting against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his official residence in Jerusalem, accusing the premier and his cabinet of abandoning the hostages in Gaza.

“Alive, alive, we want them alive!” they chant.

Before speakers go up, the demonstrators sing “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, “in hope that in the coming week, we will receive some good news.”

Ilan Siegel, the daughter of Keith Siegel, tells the crowd that Jerusalem is her father’s favorite city, and says that since October 7, she has avoided visiting the capital.

She tells the protesters what her mother Aviva Siegel, a freed captive, said to her father before being released from Hamas captivity, “‘You will be strong for me, and I will be strong for you.”

“Dad, I really hope that you are staying strong for mom, because she is staying strong for you. She doesn’t rest, she travels from place to place, speaks, yells [on your behalf],” she continues.

The protest, a weekly occurrence, is being held ahead of Israel’s memorial and independence days.

Demonstrators will soon march from Paris Square to the President’s Residence, where more speeches will be delivered by public figures associated with Safeguarding a Shared Home, Jerusalem’s central anti-government protest group.