Exactly eleven months after the unprecedented attack by the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas on Israel, thousands of people have once again taken to the streets to demand an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages. Among those taking part in the rallies in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities on Saturday were relatives of the hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip.
As journalists from the AFP news agency reported, they shouted anti-government slogans. “Blood is on your hands” and “Who’s next?” were written on their banners.
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 last year. According to Israeli sources, Hamas fighters killed 1,205 people in the attacks on locations in southern Israel and abducted 251 as hostages in the Gaza Strip. Eleven months later, according to Israeli sources, 97 hostages are still being held by Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups, 33 of whom are presumed dead.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has since launched massive military operations in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 40,930 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since October.
The prospects for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages are currently slim. Both sides are insisting on their demands. The Israeli government, for example, does not want to give up control of the so-called Philadelphia Corridor, a border strip around 14 kilometers long on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt.
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