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A group of relatives of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian gunmen in Gaza stormed a parliamentary committee session in Jerusalem on Monday, demanding that the lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones.
The action by about 20 people signaled growing domestic dissent in the fourth month of the Gaza war against Hamas.
One woman held up pictures of three family members who were among the 253 people seized in the cross-border Hamas rampage of Oct. 7 that triggered the worst fighting in decades.
Some 130 remain in captivity after others were brought home in a November truce, although a government spokesperson said last week that includes at least two dozen Israelis who are dead, but whose bodies remain in Gaza.
“Just one I’d like to get back alive, one out of three!” the protester cried after pushing into the Knesset’s finance committee discussion.
Other protesters, clad in black T-shirts, held up signs reading: “You will not sit here while they die there.”
“Release them now, now, now!” they chanted.
The fate of the hostages — 27 of whom Israel says have died in Gaza — has riveted the country. But the relatives fear that war fatigue could soften that focus. Demonstrations that initially promoted national unity have become more aggressive.
Anti-government protests that shook the nation in 2023 ceased for a time after the Hamas Oct. 7 attack as political rifts were set aside. The militant group’s attack on Israel killed approximately 1,200 people. At least 25,295 Gazans have been killed since, Gaza health authorities said in an update on Monday.
No real Hamas proposal: Netanyahu
Families and supporters have also started camping outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coastal home as well as the Knesset building.
“We will not leave him until the hostages are back,” said Eli Stivi, whose son Idan is being held in Gaza.
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Regular weekend rallies demanding the hostages be released have in recent weeks been reinforced by demonstrations calling for an election that might topple the hard-right government. On Saturday night, thousands protested in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem, calling for an election.
In the Knesset on Monday, parliamentary ushers, often quick to eject hecklers or protesters, stood by during the ruckus in the Knesset Finance Committee. One lawmaker covered her face with her hands.
Panel chairman Moshe Gafni, head of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party in Netanyahu’s coalition, stood up, called a halt to the economic briefing under way and sought to calm the protester.
“Redeeming captives is the most important precept in Judaism, especially in this case, where there is an urgency to preserving life,” he said, but added: “Quitting the coalition would not achieve anything.”
Netanyahu appeared to push back on Monday against media speculation that a new Gaza truce was in the works, telling relatives of hostages held by Hamas that the Palestinian militant group has not made any solid offer.
“There is no real proposal by Hamas. It’s not true. I am saying this as clearly as I can because there are so many incorrect statements which are certainly agonizing for you,” Netanyahu’s office quoted him as telling the group.
Sami al-Zuhri, head of Hamas’s political unit in exile, told Reuters on Monday Hamas was open to “all initiatives and proposals, but any agreement must be based on ending the aggression and the occupation’s complete withdrawal” from Gaza.
Dozens killed in Khan Younis strike, officials say
Inside Gaza, Israeli forces advanced deep into western Khan Younis, storming one hospital and putting another under siege, Palestinian officials said.
Troops advanced for the first time into the al-Mawasi district near the Mediterranean Coast, west of Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza. There, they stormed the Al-Khair hospital and were arresting medical staff, Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told Reuters.
There was no immediate word from Israel on the situation at the hospital. The military spokesperson’s office had no comment.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said tanks had also surrounded another Khan Younis hospital, al-Amal, headquarters of the rescue agency, which had lost contact with its staff there.
Qidra said at least 50 people were killed overnight in Khan Younis, while the sieges of medical facilities meant dozens of dead and wounded were beyond the reach of rescuers.
The Israeli military spokesperson’s office had no immediate comment on the situation at Al-Khair hospital.
Israel says Hamas fighters operate from in and around hospitals, which Hamas and medical staff deny.
At Nasser Hospital, the only major hospital still accessible in Khan Younis and the largest still functioning in Gaza, video showed the trauma ward overwhelmed with wounded being treated on a floor splashed with blood. Relatives wailed, surrounding small wounded children being treated several to a bed.
The Israeli military made no mention of the huge battle in Khan Younis in a morning update, giving details of combat only in other areas.
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