Massive protests erupted throughout Israel on Sunday in response to the deaths of six hostages in Gaza, as widespread fury rose over the government’s failure to reach a ceasefire agreement that may assure the release of additional Israeli detainees.
According to Israeli media estimates, some 500,000 people gathered in locations including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
They asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step up efforts to bring back the remaining 101 captives, one-third of whom are thought to have died, according to Israeli officials.\
Protesters surrounded Netanyahu’s home in Tel Aviv and stopped roadways in Jerusalem, while overhead footage showed the city’s major highway crowded with protestors waving banners with pictures of the captives who were killed.
Images of police firing water cannons against demonstrators who blocked highways were shown on Israeli television, and 29 arrests were reported by the local media.
A one-day countrywide strike was called by labor groups for Monday in an effort to increase public pressure for a solution.
In the meantime, the Israeli military said that it had located the bodies of six captives in a tunnel in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino were recognized as these captives.
A military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, told reporters of the disturbing finding.
A spokesperson of the Israeli health ministry stated that forensic tests revealed the hostages had been killed by Hamas 48 to 72 hours earlier, with several bullet wounds inflicted at close range.
As pressure mounted on Netanyahu to broker a truce and secure the release of the remaining captives, he said that Israel would persist in prosecuting those involved. Netanyahu declared, “Whoever kills hostages does not want a deal.”
Senior Hamas leaders responded by claiming that the killings were caused by Israel’s failure to negotiate a truce. Senior Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Netanyahu is to blame for the deaths of Israeli detainees.
Israelis ought to decide between the agreement and Netanyahu.
