Half million people gather in Israel for rally in support of Gaza hostages

Tel Aviv: About half a million Israelis took to the streets in anti-government rallies in Tel Aviv and other cities demanding an immediate deal to free the hostages from the Gaza Strip, who have been held captive by Palestinian radicals for exactly 11 months.

The organizers of the largest rally in Tel Aviv claimed 500,000 activists in attendance, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The protesters once again called for an immediate deal to free the hostages from the Gaza Strip and blamed the Israeli government for the deaths of dozens of them.

The largest protest action, which has become a weekly event, is taking place in the center of Tel Aviv near the government buildings complex, where, in particular, the Defense Ministry headquarters is located.

 Ambulance crews and large police forces are on duty at the scene, blocking traffic in the city center and setting up barriers to prevent possible riots and blocking of neighboring highways, which has happened repeatedly during previous protests.

In particular, Russian native Andrei Kozlov, who was released from Hamas captivity, addressed the crowd of thousands of demonstrators, calling on them not to miss the chance to conclude a deal and free the hostages remaining in Gaza.

“We must demand that our leaders not miss the chance… we must not forget about the hostages… their time is running out, we see and feel it. Bring them home now,” Kozlov said.

Kozlov and three other hostages were rescued on June 8 during a complex military operation by the Israeli army in the area of ​​the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip.

Mass anti-government demonstrations have flared up in Israel this week with renewed vigor in solidarity with the families of hostages amid news of the murder of six kidnapped Israelis in the Gaza Strip, including Russian citizen Alexander Lobanov.

Gaza talks through mediators have been underway in Cairo and Doha for several weeks, but no specific progress or success has been reported.

 Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the issue of control of the Philadelphi Corridor was far from being the only stumbling block to reaching an agreement, adding that there was no agreement on literally any of the key points.

According to Netanyahu, Palestinian movement Hamas initially did not agree with the American settlement plan presented in May and made 29 adjustments to it.

Israel, however, fully approved of the plan, as the prime minister himself has repeatedly stated.

Hamas said on Thursday said that it did not need new proposals for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The movement noted that it was necessary to put pressure on Netanyahu so that he fulfilled “what was agreed upon.

” A senior White House official recently said that the hostage exchange deal with Hamas has been agreed upon by 90%.

The media reported that, amid the lack of progress in the negotiations, the US side was working on another proposal for the conflicting parties, which was based on Joe Biden’s May plan, but would require Israel and Hamas to make compromises.

US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns, who is actively involved in the negotiations as a mediator, said on Saturday that a new proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of the hostages was being finalized, and stressed that ending the conflict would require some difficult decisions and political compromises from both Israel and Hamas.

According to Israeli data, 101 people are still held captive by Hamas, including those believed to be dead. Through various operations and humanitarian efforts, 154 people were returned from Hamas captivity, including the dead hostages whose bodies were taken from the enclave.