Tel Aviv
New mass demonstrations are taking place in Israel as Israeli forces continue their offensive against the Islamist Hamas group in the blockaded Gaza Strip. At the main rally in the port city of Tel Aviv and other demonstrations in other Israeli cities, participants demanded a deal with Hamas to free about 100 hostages. Local media reported that organizers said there were 500,000 protesters in Tel Aviv alone.
“We cannot afford to lose any more lives,” said a relative of a hostage shot dead by Islamic extremists at a Tel Aviv rally. “Time is running out.”
Sadness and anger
Hamas terrorists killed Karmel Gat and four other women and men at close range last week. The Israeli army announced Sunday that the bodies were found in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. “If (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu had agreed to the deal, the six would be with us today,” Gat’s relatives shouted to the crowd, their voices a mixture of grief and anger.
Hamas and other Islamic terrorist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing more than 1,200 people in the Gaza Strip and taking 250 hostages. The unprecedented massacre triggered the Gaza War. According to Israeli figures, 101 people are still being held by Hamas, but it is unclear how many of them are alive.
Indirect negotiations for her release, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, have been going round and round for months without any results. The proposed multi-step deal would also include an end to the war, a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Negotiations must continue
Critics accuse Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of torpedoing such an agreement with excessive demands, such as a permanent Israeli military presence in strategic Gaza. Netanyahu refuses to make any concessions to Hamas and rules in coalition with right-wing extremist parties that threaten to destroy the government alliance.
CIA Director William Burns announced additional indirect talks. “We will have a more detailed proposal in the next few days and we will see,” Burns told a Financial Times event in London. He leads the US delegation to the indirect talks, which are usually held in Cairo or Doha.
US delegation leader hopes for breakthrough
The US media has already reported on the final proposal plan for the recent agreement, explaining that if both sides do not accept it again, the negotiations may end. According to Burns, there are incalculable risks, including the future and security of the entire Middle East region.
Ultimately, he said, the necessary progress in negotiations was “a matter of political will.” Mr Burns said he sincerely hoped the leaders of the two conflicting parties would make the difficult decisions necessary and reach a political compromise.
Another death in Lebanon
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, military clashes between Israeli forces and pro-Iran Hezbollah militias continue. The Israeli military said sirens wailed in the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona at night. The Times of Israel reported, citing local authorities, that dozens of Hezbollah rockets were fired at the mostly evacuated town. At least two projectiles struck the city, causing damage. There were no injuries, according to a local spokesman.
At least three people were killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon early this evening, according to local authorities. The victims were civil defense workers, the Lebanese capital Beirut’s health ministry said. The Israeli military initially had no comment. Hezbollah claimed several attacks on Israel throughout the day.
In the 11 months since the war between Israel and Hezbollah-aligned Hamas began in the Gaza Strip, there have been near-daily military standoffs between Israeli troops and Lebanese Shiite militias along the border between the two countries. There have been casualties on both sides, most of them Hezbollah members. The militias say they are acting in solidarity with Hamas.
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