Joe.My.God. LGBT News
CNN reports:
Protests have broken out in big cities, small towns and on highways across Israel as demonstrators call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
Protest locations include Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ra’anana, Be’er Sheva, Kfar Saba, Kiryat Bialik, Afula, Ness Ziona, Binyamina, and various major intersections and bridges around the country, according to protest organizers.
In Tel Aviv, organizers estimated a crowd size of 300,000. In Jerusalem, a group representing the families of Israeli hostages said thousands of supporters had joined them in demonstrating outside a cabinet meeting.
The New York Times reports:
“For 11 months, the government of Israel led by Netanyahu failed to do what is expected of a government — to bring its sons and daughters home,” a group representing the families of hostages said in a statement. “Netanyahu: Enough of the excuses. Enough of the spin. Enough of the abandonment.”
Israel’s military said an initial assessment showed the hostages had been killed by Hamas shortly before being found, and the raw responses to their deaths put into focus the stark divisions within Israel over the war.
Many hostage families and their supporters have called for a deal with Hamas without delay, even if it leaves the group intact. Mr. Netanyahu and his allies have said a bad deal with Hamas could put Israel’s long-term security at risk.
The Washington Post reports:
Among those recovered Saturday from Gaza by the Israeli military was Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, whose parents have become globally known ambassadors for the hostage family movement and who spoke last month at the Democratic National Convention.
“Needing our only son — and all of the cherished hostages — home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Jon Polin, Hersh’s father, said at the time.
Over nearly 11 months of agonizing uncertainty, many of the hostage families have accused Netanyahu of prioritizing his political survival over a deal that would bring their loved ones home, and on Sunday they demanded he address the nation.
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