Tel Aviv, July 5 (Haaretz) – With Netanyahu expected to visit the White House next week and Israel’s security cabinet meeting Saturday night to discuss Hamas’ response to the cease-fire proposal, protesters are hoping to ramp up the pressure to ensure leaders follow through on a full hostage deal
As Israel continues to review Hamas’ response to the proposal for a cease-fire deal, Israelis are staging protests across the country calling for the release of the hostages and voicing their opposition to the government on Saturday night.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expected to visit the White House next week, and Israel’s security cabinet scheduled to meet at 10 P.M., protesters are hoping to ramp up pressure on leaders to follow through on a cease-fire deal.
The main rally calling for the release of the Israeli hostages is being held in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square. Simultaneous protests are taking place in Tel Aviv, near the Defense Ministry’s headquarters, and at Habima Square in the city center.
Hundreds of demonstrators are also set to take part in a silent anti-war protest, in which they will hold photos of Palestinian children who were killed in Gaza by Israel.
Naama Weinberg, cousin of Itay Svirsky, who was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri and murdered in captivity, addressed U.S. President Donald Trump during a rally at Habima Square.
“President Trump, this is your moment,” she said. “You have the power to pressure Netanyahu to sign a comprehensive hostage deal, end the war, and bring everyone home at once.”
On Friday evening, Hamas announced it had submitted a positive response to the Qatari cease-fire proposal and is ready to begin negotiations on its implementation. The draft presented to Hamas includes the release of ten living hostages in two stages, in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Ahead of the evening protests, several relatives of hostages delivered a statement outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Yotam Cohen, brother of abducted soldier Nimrod Cohen, expressed concern that the government was moving toward only a partial deal.
Hostage families’ statement in front of the defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, on Saturday.Credit: Moti Milrod
“We’re deeply worried that even the current outline on the table will end in another selective and partial deal, that the negotiations will collapse again, and the war will resume,” Cohen warned. “We fear that, once again, political considerations will leave some hostages behind – including my brother Nimrod. If the war resumes, those who don’t come back now never will,” he said.
Einav Zangauker, mother to hostage Matan, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately pursue a ceasefire deal. “The proposal on the table again includes phases and brutal selection,” she said. “But if it’s implemented, it could lead to a comprehensive agreement that returns everyone and ends the war, just as President Trump has said.”
She added that Netanyahu had promised her two days earlier, during his visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, that he would bring all the hostages home. “Accept the proposal tonight and send a delegation with a full mandate to reach a comprehensive agreement that ends the war and returns everyone,” she urged.
“No one can be left behind,” she added. “This deal cannot end like the previous one, which collapsed due to foot-dragging and petty politics. Politics has already killed enough. We demand swift negotiations that guarantee that by day 60, no hostage remains in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued its own call for a full-scale deal. “This is the time to complete the mission and to achieve a comprehensive deal,” the forum stated. “All 50 hostages are humanitarian cases – some are in life-threatening danger, others risk disappearing forever. This is the hour to bring about a comprehensive deal that will guarantee the return of the last hostage.”
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Israel, USA, Trump, Gaza, Hostages,
