Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered outside the parliament building in Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government demonstration since the country went to war in October. They urged the government to reach a cease-fire deal to free dozens of hostages held by the Hamas militant group in Gaza and to hold early elections.
Israeli society was broadly united immediately after Oct. 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people during a cross-border attack and took 250 others hostage. Nearly six months of conflict have renewed divisions over the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though the country remains largely in favor of the war.
Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages home, yet those goals have been elusive. While Hamas has suffered heavy losses, it remains intact.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
They urged the government to reach a cease-fire deal to free dozens of hostages held by the Hamas militant group in Gaza and to hold early elections.
Netanyahu is also facing a litany of corruption charges which are slowly making their way through the courts, and critics say his decisions appear to be focused on political survival over the national interest.
Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears to remain firmly intact, and even if he were ousted, top rival Benny Gantz is a war cabinet member and likely would continue many of his policies.
In his Sunday address, Netanyahu also repeated his vow for a military ground offensive in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than half of territory’s population of 2.3 million now shelters after fleeing fighting elsewhere.
Also Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent camp in the courtyard of a crowded hospital in central Gaza, killing two Palestinians and wounding another 15, including journalists working nearby.
Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of Palestinian Christians gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense wafting through the rare building that appeared untouched by war.
The original article contains 1,119 words, the summary contains 191 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Netanyahu quickly went for a little surgery break.
What’s the likelihood that any of the Israeli hostages are still alive?
Apparently Hamas transports them via ambulance, so depending on their exact reasons for doing that, the possibilities are all over the damn place
Savvy way to make ambulances in Gaza less of a target for Isreal, which will hopefully keep some injured Palestinians alive as well.
Don’t be fooled, Israel has killed a few of their own hostages, and, as the article stated, the “brig the hostages home” line is more of a cover for the ongoing genocide than an actual worry of Israel. They’ve had multiple chances to save hostages, and have repeatedly bombed places intel told them hostages are being held. Israel does not give a shit about the hostages. It’s emotional leverage to continue eradicating Palestinian people, razing their land, settling there themselves, and punishing everyone in Gaza.
The country that has repeatedly fired upon people receiving aid, shot their own hostages, slaughtered people waving white flags, carpet bombed “safe zones,” told civilians to leave an area only to shoot/bomb them as they ran, deliberately starved the people of Gaza, and shot in the foot multiple chances to get their own hostages back, believe it or not, does not give a shit about saving people. It’s all for corrupt ends.
It’s pretty likely that at least some are still alive, since they were probably held in the Hamas tunnels under Gaza, safe from bombs.
Hamas knows that living hostages are their strongest cards in negotitation, and they have historically gone to great lengths to secure this advantage.
Now imagine if they actually protested against the genocide they are committing.
Makes you wonder how many of these protesters would be fine with it to continue if there was no hostages.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. At this point, pressure on the far right psychos in charge of Israel is a good thing, even if the protesters motives are less than ideal.
Stopping the ongoing genocide is fucking unquestionably necessary. If the far right psychos manage to put pressure on other far right psychos in order to do so, so be it. We’re not signing some pact with them. We’re trying to save lives.
Wow, I can’t believe all these Hamas agents got so embedded into Israel that their own family members were amongst the hostages. They’re playing the long game. I guess the IDF needs to start bombing Israeli cities, Hamas could be hiding anywhere at this point!
