Protesters call for Israeli government to do more to secure release of loved ones, as south of Gaza sees worst violence since war began

Family members of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip have stormed a parliamentary meeting in Jerusalem to demand that Israel’s government does more to return their loved ones, as fighting in Khan Younis reached unprecedented levels.

About 20 relatives of people seized as captives by the Palestinian militant group in the 7 October attack disrupted a Knesset finance committee meeting on Monday, chanting: “Release them now, now, now!”

One woman, who has three family members taken by Hamas, cried: “Just one I’d like to get back alive, one out of three.” Other protesters held up signs reading: “You will not sit here while they die there.”

On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected new Hamas conditions for ending the war and releasing the hostages including the Islamist group retaining control of Gaza and Israel withdrawing completely. In response, a Hamas official in Qatar said Netanyahu’s refusal to end the military offensive in Gaza meant there was “no chance for the return of the captives”.

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  • alvvayson@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5812·
    10 months ago

    Honestly, the one thing that really surprises me about this war is how little the Israeli government cares about the hostages.

    They really do value land more than human lives.

    And the absolute cold blooded attitude they have towards innocent Palestinians is horrifying.

    Regardless of what the ICJ decides, for me people who support Hamas, ISIS, Russia, deny the Holocaust, neo-nazis or those who support the state of Israel are all immoral persons.

    And it is difficult to accept that most people are actually quite comfortable with evil. It seems to be that people are just tribal in which evil they support and which evil they object to.

    • streetfestival@lemmy.caEnglish
      172·
      10 months ago

      Honestly, the one thing that really surprises me about this war is how little the Israeli government cares about the hostages.

      Sadly, I think the Israeli government might be aware that there are fewer live hostages to come home than people think after the IDF gave the Hannibal directive on October 7th.

      The possibility of “friendly fire” has been discussed more widely in Israeli news than US/Western news. For example, here’s an opinion piece in Israeli’s current oldest paper (refresh the page, which doesn’t seem to load properly the first time):

      https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-12-13/ty-article-opinion/.premium/if-israel-used-a-procedure-against-its-citizens-we-need-to-talk-about-it-now/0000018c-6383-de43-affd-f783212e0000

      The accounts of the only two survivors of the hostage-taking incident in Be’eri on October 7 give the impression that the Israel Defense Forces employed the so-called Hannibal Directive with the people being held hostage by Hamas inside one of the houses on the kibbutz. When it is implemented, the Hannibal Directive allows the military to endanger a soldier to prevent them from being kidnapped.

    • Akasazh@feddit.nlEnglish
      62·
      10 months ago

      Israeli gov doesn’t care about the hostages and Hamas doesn’t care about the Palestinian people. It’s very bleak.

    • Sir_Simon_Spamalot@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      10 months ago

      On the contrary, the hostage situation shouldn’t be surprising. It’s been going according with the current trajectory of things.

    • nonailsleft@lemm.eeEnglish
      37·
      10 months ago

      Honestly, the one thing that really surprises me about this war is how little the Israeli government cares about the hostages.

      There were 10 times as many Israelis killed in Hamas’ attack in a single day that there are hostages left. They’ve also said they will keep performing such attacks for as long as they can.

      Sad as it is for the individuals, I think Israel considers them lost and the last thing they want to do is prove Hamas right for what they did

      • alvvayson@lemmy.worldEnglish
        115·
        10 months ago

        I’m not an American.

        Gonna downvote you for making assumptions.

        And no, I am also quite critical of the evil of my own country, but I probably have huge blind spots as well.