Saturday night protests to demand Israel leverage Sinwar killing for hostage deal

Several thousand Israelis are expected to take to the streets Saturday night to call for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, as the families have demanded the government take advantage of the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar to secure the release of their loved ones.

This week marks the resumption of the central rally in Tel Aviv, which was put on hold in late September due to the IDF Home Command’s restrictions following the escalation in Lebanon.

The Home Command is now allowing public gatherings in Tel Aviv of 2,000 people, up from 1,000 in recent weeks. Amid the restriction, the rally will take place on Hostages Square, rather than the larger Begin Street, where weekend rallies in recent months have drawn tens of thousands of protesters, many of them from anti-government groups.

Hailing the security forces for killing Sinwar, the Hostages Families Forum said the families “express deep concern for their loved ones who have been held for over a year in Hamas captivity, and call on the government to leverage the military achievement into a diplomatic achievement — a deal to bring back the 101 hostages” still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Sinwar, who was seen as a major obstacle to a hostage deal, was killed Wednesday in a chance encounter with IDF troops operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah. His death has sparked hopes of a renewed opportunity to revitalize the long-stalled negotiations.

The Hostages Square rally is set to feature speeches from Meirav Tal, who was released from Hamas captivity in a November ceasefire and whose partner Yair Yaakov‘s body is still in Gaza; Eli Shtivi, father of hostage Idan Shtivi, whose death the army announced on October 7; Shelly Shem-Tov, mother of hostage Omer Shem-Tov; Simona Steinbrecher, mother of hostage Doron Steinbrecher; and Yaela David, sister of hostage Eviatar David.

Other large regular rallies will also be held in Kiryat Gat, the southern Shaar HaNegev junction, and near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, and smaller rallies will be held in interchanges across the country.

CNN on Friday cited Israeli officials as saying Jerusalem could use the terror chief’s body, which is being held in a secret location in Israel, as a “bargaining chip” in the talks. On Thursday, in a video statement on the killing, Netanyahu said Israel would spare the lives of Hamas operatives who laid down their arms and released their captives.

However, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that talks are yet to restart, and Channel 12 cited an Israeli official saying they would likely remain so until Hamas settled on new leadership.

Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst through the Gaza border and massacred some 1,200 people in their homes, communities and at a music festival, and abducted 251 to Gaza, sparking the war in Gaza.

It is believed that 97 of those hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the army as they escaped their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.