Tel Aviv, MINA – Thousands of Israelis were set to stage nationwide protests on Saturday night after families of hostages called for a general strike opposing the government’s plan to annex Gaza, warning it would endanger captives still held by Hamas.
The demonstrations come 22 months into Israel’s war with Hamas. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged leaders to halt the war and negotiate a comprehensive deal to secure the hostages’ release, saying time was running out.
Former captives, including Eliya Cohen and Sharon Aloni Cunio freed with her twin daughters during a November 2023 ceasefire, joined the rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.
Israel’s cabinet recently approved plans to seize Gaza despite military opposition, which warned the move could endanger hostages, put troops at unnecessary risk, and worsen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. The decision drew sharp criticism domestically and abroad, and appeared to scale back Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier vow to conquer all of Gaza.
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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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