Thousands of people joined the families of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza on Friday afternoon to stage a protest outside Israeli army headquarters in Tel Aviv, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Israeli officials and as the Israeli military continued its massive offensive against in the Strip. The demonstrators blocked Shaul Hamelech Avenue and several protests were be held tonight at the same place and Kaplan Street in Tel-Aviv, in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheva, Eilat and other cities.
Thousands of people joined the families of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza in a protest held outside Israeli army headquarters in Tel Aviv, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Israeli officials, Friday, November 6, 2023 (Photo: Families of Hostages’ Forum)
The families of the 241 hostages announced on Friday that they would be protesting indefinitely until their loved ones are returned home. They said they were setting up a tent camp outside the base, which also houses the Defense Ministry. “From the evening until all the abductees return – no one is going home,” according to the families of hostages’ forum. They plan to remain there 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Israeli ground operations in northern Gaza have continued, Friday with troops and tanks reportedly surrounding Gaza city from multiple directions. Further clashes with Palestinian armed groups have taken place, alongside intense bombardments across the Gaza Strip, including in the Middle and southern areas.
Between 2 November (noon) and 3 November (14:00), 196 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, bringing the reported fatality toll since the start of the hostilities to 9,257, including 3,826 children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. On 2 November, seven Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the start of ground operations to 24.
Nearly 1.5 million people in Gaza are internally displaced. Of them, some 690,000 are sheltering in 149 UNRWA facilities, 122,000 in hospitals, churches, and public buildings, 99,000 in 82 non-UNRWA schools, and the remainder with host families.
Indiscriminate rocket firing by Palestinian armed groups towards Israeli population centres has continued over the past 24 hours with low intensity, resulting in no fatalities. Overall, about 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on the deadly Hamas attack in 7 October. As of 3 November, the names of 1,159 of these fatalities have been released, including 828 civilians. Of those whose ages have been provided, 31 are children.
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