In the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, thousands of people again protested on Thursday evening against the release of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
The demonstrators also called on the trade union umbrella organization Histadrut to declare a general strike. This should continue until all hostages are released, the organizers of the Hostage Forum demanded.
According to media reports, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau said at the meeting that it is Israel’s duty to bring the hostages home.
The current indirect negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement over the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza war have yet to lead to a breakthrough.
Relatives accuse the Israeli government of having no serious interest in securing the release of the hostages.
Until a few weeks ago, Israel believed that just under 100 of the 130 remaining hostages were still alive. However, it is now feared that significantly more of them may be dead.
Hamas militants and other extremists abducted more than 200 people to the Gaza Strip during devastating attacks in the Israeli border area on October 7 last year.
