Protesters in Israel yesterday torched tires, blocked highways and clamored for a ceasefire that would free hostages still in Gaza, as Israeli leaders pressed ahead with plans for an offensive which they say is needed to crush Hamas.
The disruption came as Palestinians in Gaza braced for the expanded offensive against a backdrop of displacement, destruction and parts of the territory plunging into famine.
It also came a day after deadly strikes against Gaza’s main hospital killed 20 people, including medics and journalists, among them Mariam Dagga, a journalist who worked for The Associated Press.
Photo: EPA
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to hold a security Cabinet meeting later yesterday, but it was unclear if he would discuss ceasefire efforts. He has said that Israel would launch an expanded offensive in Gaza City while simultaneously pursuing a ceasefire, although Israel has yet to send a negotiating team to discuss a proposal on the table.
Netanyahu has said the offensive is the best way to weaken Hamas and return hostages, but hostage families and their supporters have pushed back.
“Go back to the negotiation table. There’s a good deal on the table. It’s something we can work with,” said Ruby Chen, the father of 21-year-old Itay Chen, a dual Israeli-American citizen whose body is being held in Gaza. “We could get a deal done to bring all the hostages back.”
Photo: Reuters
Hamas captured 251 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023. The vast majority have been released during ceasefires. Israel has only rescued eight hostages alive. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, and about 20 of them are believed by Israel to still be living.
Calls for a ceasefire came a day after Israel struck southern Gaza’s main hospital, killing at least five journalists and 15 others, including Dagga, who had covered doctors treating children for starvation at the same facility days before.
The strike, among the deadliest of the war against both journalists and hospitals, sparked shock and outrage among press freedom advocates and Palestinians, who mourned the dead at funerals on Monday.
It was swiftly condemned across the globe. Netanyahu called it a “tragic mishap” and said the military would investigate.
Most of those killed died after rushing to the scene of the first blast, only to be hit by a second strike — an attack captured on television by several networks.
A day after the strike, Israeli strikes killed at least 16 Palestinians, hospitals in Gaza said.
Officials from Nasser Hospital, Shifa Hospital and Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan clinic reported that among the 16 were families, women and children.
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