Tens of thousands together with families of hostages held in Gaza rallied Saturday night in Tel-Aviv and other cities for a deal to secure the release of their loved ones, after on Friday Israeli soldiers killed three hostages who had managed to escape captivity.
The hostages, Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Shamriz, were killed by troops on Friday morning in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood. The three were shot while walking toward the soldiers despite carrying a white flag and yelling for help in Hebrew. “We only receive dead bodies. We want you to stop the fight and start negotiations,” Noam Peri, daughter of hostage Haim Peri, said at the Tel Aviv rally organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Hadash and Communist Party of Israel members gathering at Kafr Yasif to demand an end of the Gaza war, Saturday evening, December 16, 2023 (Photo: Zo Haderech)
Raz Ben Ami, who was freed from Hamas captivity and whose husband, Ohad, is still being held hostage in Gaza, spoke at Saturday night’s rally at Tel Aviv’s “Hostage’s Square,” demanding that the government present a new proposal for the release of additional hostages.
The news of the killing sparked protests in Israel, with some relatives of hostages fearing their loved ones could be next. Unlike previous rallies held at the recently renamed Hostages Square outside the Tel Aviv Art Museum, the stage of Saturday’s demonstration was turned to face the Kirya military headquarters nearby, a move meant to highlight the organizers’ demands of the far-right government. Following the rally on Saturday night, families of the hostages camped out opposite an entrance to the Kirya compound near the army headquarters.
Earlier on Saturday night, anti-government sentiment reverberated through the crowd of several thousand protesters at a weekly solidarity rally at Rothschild Blvd. At the rally, chants of the word “shame” spread through the crowd in response to a speech by Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Chaimi is thought to have been abducted from Nir Yitzhak and subsequently killed in captivity. The chants, which are emblematic of the protest movement against Netanyahu and his government’s judicial overhaul, came in response to Goren’s call for Netanyahu to declare a ceasefire. “The fighting cannot free the hostages, it endangers them. It’s killing them,” Goren said. Addressing Netanyahu, he added: “Only a deal will prevent unnecessary deaths.”
Other rallies were held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Caesarea (near Netanyahu’s house), Netanya, Kfar Sava, Beer Sheva, Nahalal Junction, Kyriat Tivon, Haogen Junction, Zikhron Yaacov, Arad, Hedera, Eilat, Karkur Junction, Hod Hasharon and Shoham.
Amid police pressure, the Hadash national council convened Saturday afternoon at Kafr Yasif in Western Galilee for a discussion of “challenges and action plans for the forces of peace, equality and democracy in the struggle against war and fascism.” Hadash-Ta’al MKs and Arab Higher Committee leading members participated in the meeting. After the meeting, hundreds of Hadash and Communist Party of Israel members gathered at Kafr Yasif to demand an end of the Gaza war.
On Friday, Israeli Police arrested two Left activists and brutally disperse anti-Gaza war protest in Haifa. The demonstration was attended by 20 people at Herzl Street, yet many policemen were on site. ‘We stood there holding a legitimate protest vigil, not disturbing anyone,” says one of the detained protesters.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31445
