Marching to Jerusalem for Sat. night rallies, families demand PM ‘stop sabotaging deal’
‘We’re all for settling the score with the Hamas murders, but not at the cost of our loved ones,’ says hostage’s mother after marchers hear news of strike on Hamas military chief
Family members of Israelis held hostage in Gaza, joined by thousands of supporters, were advancing Saturday on the final leg of a four-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, calling for a deal with Hamas to secure the release of their loved ones, as high-stakes indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas continued for an agreement on a Gaza ceasefire and a release of captives.
The march set out from Ma’ale Hahamisha outside the capital and was to culminate with an evening rally outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, concurrent with mass demonstrations throughout the country.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan, 24, was kidnapped by terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, told the crowd, “We’re seeing more and more reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to sabotage the deal [to release the hostages]. He adds demands that could cost Matan his life, he adds demands that could cost the lives of other hostages.”
Shouts of “Shame!” could be heard from the crowd as Zangauker said the prime minister’s name.
“We won’t let you, Benjamin Netanyahu. We demand that you stop sabotaging the deal, we demand that you sign the deal. Put aside all personal or political considerations and bring the hostages home,” she said.
Einav Zangauker gave a short speech this morning before embarking on Day 3 of the March to Jerusalem:
"It is so touching to wake up in the morning and see masses of Israelis joining our 'march for a deal', 'march for hope'. I fee as though we have already been friends for a very… pic.twitter.com/PqkFPt3VfE
— We Are All Hostages (@AllHostages) July 12, 2024
As the march was underway, news broke that the IDF had targeted Muhammad Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing, and Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip. The report created fresh uncertainty among relatives and concern regarding the effect the attempted killings would have on negotiations.
“We’re all for settling the score with the Hamas murders, but not at the cost of our loved ones’s lives and our chances to get them home,” Einav Zangauker told Channel 12 following the strike. ”
“If [Hamas military wing commander] Muhammad Deif was eliminated with a hostage deal on the table, and Netanyahu doesn’t get up now and say he’s willing to take the deal, even at the price of ending the war, that means he’s given up on my Matan, and on the rest of the hostages.”
“Netanyahu, don’t bury the hostages, tell the public now that you support the deal that’s on the table,” she added.
A large demonstration was expected on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road, outside IDF headquarters in the evening.
Relatives have intensified their demonstrations, saying the recent resumption of indirect negotiations may be the last chance to bring hostages home alive.
But reports that Netanyahu has now hardened his demands, ostensibly banking on a weakened Hamas being eager for a ceasefire, has angered relatives.
“We are horrified and shocked by this irresponsible behavior that is likely to lead to missing an opportunity that may never come back,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement Friday. “By the time everybody comes to their senses and works together, there may be no one to bring back.”
“Every minute is an eternity for us and every second is hell for them. We appeal to the prime minister: we stand behind the [previously announced] Netanyahu deal. Now it’s your turn to stand behind the deal you put on the table.”
Talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States have so far failed to secure an agreement for the release of hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire since a weeklong truce in November that saw Hamas free 105 people kidnapped during its October 7 onslaught. However, there has been renewed optimism about the talks after Hamas dropped its demand that the framework include an upfront commitment from Israel to end the war during the first phase — though the terror group is still demanding a commitment to that effect from mediators.
But Netanyahu in recent days has appeared to alter previous positions, demanding an enforcement mechanism to prevent armed Hamas operatives from returning to northern Gaza and calling for Israel to retain control along the Gaza-Egypt border,
An official involved in the talks told Channel 12 news on Friday that Israel was facing a “moment of truth for the hostages,” saying a deal could be reached within two weeks.
“The prime minister’s insistence on building a mechanism to prevent the movement of armed operatives [to northern Gaza] will stall the talks for weeks and then there may not be anyone to bring home,” the official added.
According to the Walla news site, Netanyahu raised the issue during a meeting with the negotiating team on Thursday night. The negotiators reportedly told Netanyahu that they were opposed to the new condition and it was unfeasible, but the premier was said to insist on it.
“It is a demand that was not part of the Israeli proposal from May 27,” a senior official was quoted as saying, referring to the draft outlined by US President Joe Biden four days later, which currently forms the basis of the talks.
“It’s not clear why Netanyahu is raising this demand now. The security services know how to deal with the return of the armed terrorists to northern Gaza,” the official said.
In another report, officials involved in the negotiations told the Kan public broadcaster that Netanyahu was now micromanaging the talks, conducting the negotiations practically on his own. The public broadcaster quoted the officials as saying that Netanyahu was “managing every iota” of the negotiations and investing much more time in handling them.
Channel 12 also reported that officials believe Netanyahu is trying to delay an agreement because he is likely to lose his coalition over the deal, with far-right parties vowing to quit if it goes through.
Meanwhile, a Hamas official said Friday that the Palestinian terror group was still insisting on written guarantees from mediators in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations that Israel will not resume the war after the first group of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are released.
While the two sides have agreed on a general framework for a deal, the main sticking point remains that Hamas wants it to result in a permanent ceasefire, while Netanyahu has said that any agreement “must allow Israel to return to fighting until all the objectives of the war are achieved.”
Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, the head of Hamas’s political office in Lebanon, told The Associated Press in an interview that Hamas has been “flexible” on some points, but continued to insist that “negotiations should continue for a permanent ceasefire until a permanent ceasefire is reached,” as opposed to the wording in the current proposal, under which the ceasefire should continue as long as negotiations continue.
Protest groups have rallied weekly since early 2023, when the government introduced a plan to weaken the judiciary. The demonstrations were paused for a few weeks after Hamas’s October 7 invasion and killings in southern Israel, before returning full force to call for new elections, claiming the government has a moral imperative to regain the public’s trust after failing to avert the largest massacre in the country’s history.
In recent months, the central anti-government protest in Tel Aviv has taken place in conjunction with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum rally calling for the release of their loved ones. During the war, protest groups have also doubled down on their opposition to legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service, which critics describe as a power grab by Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.
One hundred and sixteen hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza; the IDF has confirmed the deaths of 42 of them.
Hamas is also believed to be holding the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014, as well as two civilians, presumed to be alive, who entered of their own accord while suffering from mental illness in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Agencies contributed to this report.
