Tel Aviv protests demand government action on hostage crisis
Over 100,000 people in Tel Aviv demonstrated on Saturday, demanding that the government work towards the release of hostages kidnapped by terrorists to the Gaza Strip, reports the Times of Israel portal. However, they cannot verify the number of demonstrators. The protest organizers provided estimates.
The demonstrators appealed to the government not to reject the proposals for a ceasefire, the release of the abducted, and the establishment of peace that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, had presented the previous day.
The protesters also demanded the acceleration of elections to the Israeli parliament.
The organizers of the protest emphasized that Saturday's demonstration was the largest since the October attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Three stages of releasing hostages
U.S. President Joe Biden presented a proposal, which, according to information provided by the Arab portal Al Madžla, envisions a three-stage process.
In the first stage, a group of 33 people from the Gaza Strip would be released, including women, children, seniors, and sick and injured individuals. In exchange for each person released from this group, Israel would release 30 Palestinian female prisoners.
In the later stages, for each released female soldier, Israel would free 50 convicted women, including 30 sentenced to life and 20 serving very long sentences.
In subsequent stages of the process, there would be a permanent ceasefire, the release of male hostages, including civilians and soldiers, in exchange for male prisoners, and the complete withdrawal of the army from the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu does not agree to a ceasefire
This proposal was criticised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir. These politicians responded that they would not agree to a permanent ceasefire until the military and administrative capabilities of Hamas are dismantled and "Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel."
Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on Saturday that "conditions for ending the war have not changed."
On Saturday, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt called on Israel and Hamas to "finalise" the agreement, which "would see a truce and hostage exchange while Israel and Hamas negotiate a permanent end to the fighting," according to the American news channel CNN.
