According to a local daily, the protesters expressed outrage over a government plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip.
ISTANBUL — Israeli women demonstrated outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Thursday morning, demanding a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with Palestinians.
According to Maariv daily, the protesters expressed outrage over a government plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip.
“Occupation of Gaza equals sacrifice of hostages and soldiers,” reads a poster waved by demonstrators.
The Israeli government approved Netanyahu’s plans earlier this month to occupy the remaining parts of Gaza, beginning with evacuating about 1 million residents from Gaza City before surrounding it and sending troops into neighborhoods, then moving toward refugee camps in central Gaza.
“The hostages are starving in tunnels, and the public is fighting for them in the streets, while Netanyahu and his aides cut short the cabinet discussion that could have ended the war in order to dine in luxury restaurants,” the protesters said in a statement.
Israel’s Security Council met on Tuesday evening without addressing a recent Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap proposal, prompting sharp criticism from opposition leaders and hostages’ families.
“Starting this week, we will all go to Jerusalem, and we will not leave Gaza Street until everyone leaves Gaza,” they added.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza, including 20 alive. There are more than 10,400 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, suffering from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has resulted in many deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. — AA
