Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced significant public outrage during his speech at the October 7 commemorations, as relatives of the Israelis killed in Gaza war shouted demands for accountability.
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Screaming relatives of the Israelis killed in Gaza war interrupted a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday during October 7 commemorations.
People shouted “Shame on you” and made a commotion, forcing Netanyahu to stop his speech.
Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for the failures that led to the attack and hold him responsible for not yet bringing home the remaining hostages.
Netanyahu stood motionless at a podium during the ceremony in West Jerusalem as audience members in the crowd shouted, interrupting him for more than a minute, according to a live broadcast of the speech.
One of the protesters repeatedly shouted, “My father was killed”.
Public and diplomatic pressure has been on Netanyahu’s administration to do more to strike a deal for securing the release of captives still held in Gaza.
Truce negotiations
Israeli spy chief David Barnea is scheduled to head to Doha on Sunday for talks aimed at restarting negotiations towards reaching a Gaza prisoner swap deal.
Families of the remaining hostages along with several Western leaders have called on the Israeli government to broker an agreement after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month.
Some 97 hostages are believed to still be held by Hamas in Gaza, of whom 34 are reported dead by the Israeli military.
Critics in Israel have also accused Netanyahu of obstructing mediation for a truce and prisoner exchange deal.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said military action by itself will not achieve the country’s war aims, which include bringing home the hostages.
“Not all objectives can be achieved through military operations alone… To realise our moral duty to bring our hostages home, we will have to make painful concessions,” Gallant said in a separate speech marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack.
C. TRT World
