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18-12-2023
TEL AVIV/ GAZA CITY: Demonstrations have taken place in Tel Aviv with calls for the Israeli government to do more to bring home hostages from Gaza
The protests were sparked by the Israeli military mistakenly killing three hostages in Gaza – Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz after misidentifying them as a “threat”
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, described the deaths as an “unbearable tragedy”
The Israeli offensive has continued in Gaza with residents reporting fighting in northern, central and southern Gaza
Hamas broke through Israel’s heavily guarded perimeter on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages some of whom were released during a brief truce
The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, says more than 18,700 people have been killed and 50,000 injured in the enclave since the start of the Gaza war
Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest against the mistaken killing of Israeli hostages in Gaza by the Israeli military.
The demonstrators called on the Israeli government to negotiate over the release of the remaining people being held by Hamas.
You can see scenes from the protest by clicking play above.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has given an update on its operations in Gaza, posting footage on social media of what they say are raids on schools in Gaza City that are hiding Hamas members.
The footage shows soldiers shooting from behind the rubble of destroyed buildings of what it says is the Rimal neighborhood close to the centre of the city.
The IDF said they had “eliminated” Hamas operatives in the fighting and that others they found in the schools, “surrendered and were arrested by the forces”.
This tragic error by Israeli forces in Gaza throws an uncomfortable spotlight on the Israeli government’s controversial efforts to recover its hostages alive.
The official policy is that the best way to get them out of Gaza is to continue putting military pressure on Hamas but relatives of the hostages, who vented their anger outside the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv last night, worry that this is proving counter-productive.
One of their banners read: ‘Every day a hostage dies’. So far, 110 hostages have been released from Gaza, all through negotiation, mostly brokered by Qatar but also by Egypt, with additional involvement by the CIA but once Israel resumed its military campaign after the recent 7-day pause it has proved very hard indeed to find and free the remaining 100-plus hostages, held both above and below ground in this densely packed residential area.
So now there is pressure on the government to resume negotiations and there are reports that the head of Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, may soon be meeting the Qatari PM to discuss the issue. (Int’l News Desk)
