On Sunday, September 1st, following the killing of six Israeli hostages in Gaza by Hamas, Israeli citizens staged a large-scale protest, demanding that the Israeli leadership reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
According to reports from Reuters, Israeli media estimated that on that day, the total number of demonstrators in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and other cities reached as many as 500,000 people. They called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take more measures to bring back the remaining 101 hostages (Israeli officials estimate that about a third of them have already died).
In Jerusalem, protesters blocked streets and demonstrated outside the Prime Minister’s residence. Aerial footage showed the main roads in Tel Aviv packed with protesters waving flags bearing photos of the kidnapped Israeli hostages.
Israeli television footage showed police firing water cannons at protesters blocking roads. Local media reported that 29 protesters were arrested.
Arnon Bar-David, the chairman of the Israeli Trade Union Federation, called for a major strike to be held on Monday to force the government to sign an agreement, stating that Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main aviation hub, would be closed from 8 am GMT (5 am local time).
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who frequently clashes with Netanyahu, also called for reaching an agreement. Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid urged people to join protest demonstrations in Tel Aviv.
Earlier that day, the Israeli military announced that the bodies of the six Israeli hostages had been found in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that the bodies of hostages Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino had been brought back to Israel.
An Israeli Health Ministry spokesperson stated that forensic examinations confirmed that they were “shot at close range by Hamas militants” 48 to 72 hours ago.
Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Israel’s refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement was the main culprit for the deaths of the hostages, and that Netanyahu should be held responsible for killing Israeli prisoners, urging the Israeli people to choose between Netanyahu and the ceasefire agreement.
Family members of the hostages said that the six hostages “were all killed in the past few days, having endured nearly 11 months of abuse, torture, and hunger in Hamas captivity. The delay in signing the agreement led to their deaths and many others.”
More and more voices are calling for Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire agreement to end the nearly 11-month war and release the remaining hostages. However, Netanyahu stated, “Those who killed the hostages do not want to reach an agreement.”
Netanyahu’s office said that he had spoken with some hostage families, apologized to them, expressed “deep mourning,” but the families refused to talk to the Prime Minister and called on Israelis to join the protest activities.
Israeli Security Cabinet hardliner and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded the Attorney General to ban the strike and to prevent protests.
US President Joe Biden expressed shock and anger at the deaths of 23-year-old Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostages.
President Biden said in a statement, “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes, and we will work around the clock to reach an agreement to ensure the release of the remaining hostages.”
He told reporters at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that he remained “optimistic” about reaching a ceasefire agreement.
Despite increasing pressure from the United States and mediation efforts by senior officials from the US, Qatar, and Egypt, negotiations have been on and off for months without reaching an agreement.
Hamas’s chief negotiator in Qatar, Khalil Al-Hayya, reiterated in an interview with Al Jazeera that Hamas would not sign an agreement unless Israel fully withdrew from Gaza, including the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, perpetuating the deadlock in negotiations.
According to Israeli statistics, Hamas and other armed groups killed about 1,200 people in attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and kidnapped about 250 hostages. Israel subsequently launched an offensive on Gaza.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 40,738 Palestinians have died, and displaced persons are living in harsh conditions, facing housing shortages and a hunger crisis.
Currently, the Israeli military continues to engage armed groups led by Hamas in some areas of Gaza, targeting a Hamas command center in a former school in Gaza City. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service reported 11 deaths, with many more injured.
Medical personnel said that in Khan Younis, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians and injured 10, bringing the total death toll in Gaza on that day to 27.
At the same time, Israel and Hamas agreed to suspend fighting in Gaza for at least eight hours each day from Sunday to Tuesday to begin vaccinating 640,000 children against polio.
(*This article references reports from Reuters)