Israeli grief and anger surged as tens of thousands took to the streets after six captives were found dead in Gaza.
The protesters chanting “Now! Now!”, the crowds demanded on Sunday night that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas to bring the remaining captives home.
Many Israelis blocked roads in Tel Aviv and demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s office in West Jerusalem.
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of captives held in Gaza, said the death of the six hostages was the direct result of Netanyahu’s failure to secure a deal to halt the fighting and bring their loved ones home.
“They were all murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture and starvation in Hamas captivity,” the forum said.
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According to Ai Jazeera, Gideon Levy, a columnist with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said Netanyahu has been defending the right-wing parties in his government that are against any concessions to Hamas.
“They [the parties] could not care less about the hostages,” he said.
Levy stressed that within Netanyahu’s Likud Party, the largest group in the government, Netanyahu wields a lot of power and the party supports him.
“Therefore the challenges from within the government are very limited,” he said. “The real, only possible, challenge would be the streets, but it is too early to judge.”
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