By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza breached the border fence of the enclave. (Photo: video grab)
Negotiation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands which include an immediate and complete ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces to the border areas.
Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza breached the fence separating the enclave from Israel on Thursday as they demanded a prisoner swap deal with the Palestinian Resistance.
The families led a convoy from ‘Hostages Square’ in Tel Aviv to the Gaza fence, according to a forum for the captives’ families and friends.
Before their departure, the mother of one of the captives, Hagit Chen, addressed the protest saying “Decision-makers in the government are stringing us along day after day in a tiring, torturous game of back-and-forth—no deal, almost a deal, no deal, almost a deal,” according to a post by the Bring Them Home Now forum on X.
“The only barrier to securing a deal right now is the courage of the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu),” she added.
‘Pleading for Deal’
At the fence, families “broke through the fence,” running towards the Gaza fence “in a desperate attempt to get as close as possible to their relatives,” the forum said in a post along with a video that showed several protesters running through a gate.
“The families are pleading for a deal to be made that would bring back their loved ones,” the forum said.
They “used loudspeakers to call out to their loved ones,” and stressed that “We will not stop shouting and demanding – bring them all back home now!”
Another video showed Israeli police urging the protesters to turn back.
According to Israeli figures, some 108 Israelis remain held in Gaza, including at least 36 dead, the Anadolu news agency reported.
In the past few months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a ceasefire as well as a prisoner exchange.
However, negotiation efforts have been stalled due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands which include an immediate and complete ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces to the border areas.
Over 40,000 Killed
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,602 Palestinians have been killed, and 93,855 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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