Hundreds of people in Israel have once again protested, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the immediate release of the hostages still held by the militant Islamist organization Hamas.
“We know they are alive, and that time is running out“, Liran Birman told ARD. His brother was kidnapped during the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 in the Gaza Strip. According to him, the Israeli government's decision to withdraw its negotiating team from Qatar is unacceptable: "Every day that there are no negotiations is a day that we are losing these people," he says.
"How can you look in the mirror?"
Einav Zangauker, whose son is still in the hands of Hamas, personally addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the demonstration with the words: "Tell me, Mr. Prime Minister, (...) how can you look in the mirror when you know that you are abandoning 58 hostages to the mercy of fate?".
Nira Sharabi, whose husband died as a Hamas hostage without her having received his remains, said that while her husband does not even have a grave, the whole family lives in hell. She called on the Israeli government: “Please stop this nightmare“.
During the mass massacre organized by Hamas on October 7, 2023, more than 250 Israeli hostages were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip. 58 hostages are still in the hands of the terrorists, most of whom are no longer alive, ARD recalls.
Many killed in Gaza
The civilian population in the Gaza Strip continues to suffer from the catastrophic humanitarian situation and the ongoing Israeli attacks. In the southern part of Khan Yunis, nine out of ten children of a family were killed. The children were between the ages of seven months and twelve years, the AP news agency reported. The only surviving child, an eleven-year-old son, is still in critical condition.
According to Hamas-controlled health services, 79 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday alone. More than 53,800 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began. These figures cannot be independently verified, but the UN and other international institutions and experts consider them credible.
Criticism also from Germany
In the meantime, criticism from Germany of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip has increased. The German government's anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“: “We must do everything in our power to protect the security of Israel and of Jews around the world. But we must also make it clear that this is no excuse for anything. The starvation of Palestinians and the deliberate dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation have nothing to do with protecting Israel's right to exist.