Tags: gaza | hostages | israel | war | netanyahu

Gaza Hostage Families to Israeli Government: Destroy Hamas

By    |   Monday, 02 September 2024 11:54 AM EDT

Members of the Gvura Forum converged on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on Monday to protest against a general strike called by the Histadrut labor federation following the Israel Defense Forces' recovery over the weekend of six hostage bodies from the Gaza Strip.

"We call on the prime minister not to give up to [Hamas terror chief Yahya] Sinwar and instead to keep up military pressure to achieve total victory," Yehoshua Shani, a member of the forum whose son, IDF Capt. Ori Shani, was killed in action at Kissufim on Oct. 7, told the Jewish News Syndicate.  

"Our heart is with the families of the hostages who were killed by Hamas and not the government of Israel, which needs to do everything possible to bring the hostages back while at the same time destroying Hamas and ending terror," Shani continued.

Captives Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 25; Alexander Lobanov, 32; Carmel Gat, 40; and Master Sgt. Ori Danino, 25, whose bodies were recovered from a Rafah tunnel in southern Gaza overnight Saturday, were shot multiple times at close range shortly before their discovery.

Israelis reacted with anger, and many blamed the Netanyahu government for Hamas' refusal to accept a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, one that Jerusalem has accepted.

An estimated 30,000 people protested in Tel Aviv on Sunday, demanding the government secure the hostages.

The Histadrut, representing roughly 800,000 Israeli trade unionists, declared a 24-hour general strike starting at 6 a.m. Monday. Ben Gurion International Airport halted departures, initially from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Hospitals moved to reduce operations. Ports offloaded only expendable items and medical supplies.

The Tel Aviv Labor Court subsequently ordered the strike to end at 2:30 p.m., with the court's president calling the economic shutdown "political."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stopped by the rally on Monday, stating, "We are using our power in the government to prevent a reckless deal. With Hamas you need to speak only between gunsights."

On Sunday, Netanyahu said he was "outraged to the depths" of his soul by the murder of the six hostages and blamed Hamas for blocking a cease-fire agreement.

"Our efforts to free our hostages are continuing constantly. Since December, Hamas has refused to hold genuine negotiations," he said.

"Three months ago, on May 27, Israel agreed to a hostage-release deal with full backing from the United States. Hamas refused. Even after the United States updated the deal framework on Aug. 16, we agreed, and Hamas again refused."

"Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal," continued Netanyahu. "For our part, we will not relent. The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving toward a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence."

While the Hostage and Missing Families Forum has accused Netanyahu of abandoning the captives, the Tikva Forum on Sunday called on the government to end months of indirect negotiations with Hamas. 

"Hamas has actually started to kill people directly to raise the pressure on the government to enter a deal on its conditions," Shimon Or, the uncle of captive Avinatan Or and a member of the Tikva Forum, told JNS.

"We knew that Hamas was a murderous terror organization, but they are now killing during negotiations. This represents a change in their strategy," he continued.

"Hamas anticipated that instead of blaming the killers, the Israeli people would put the responsibility on the government, which actually wants to bring back the hostages," he added. 

Regarding the Israeli Security Cabinet vote last week in support of Netanyahu's stance of maintaining an IDF presence in the Philadelphi Corridor on Gaza's border with Egypt, Or stressed that such a position will save lives. 

"Keeping troops in the corridor ensures that Hamas will not rearm in Gaza, and so there will not be another Oct. 7," he said. "The government didn't go to war for nothing; we went to war keep the whole country safe."

"There cannot be a situation where the government gives up clauses in any deal that are essential to keeping the Israeli people and the country safe once the hostages are back," he continued. 

"We are demanding from Prime Minister Netanyahu that he stop negotiating and makes sure Hamas knows that it will no longer exist," Or said.

Republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate

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Members of the Gvura Forum converged on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on Monday to protest against a general strike called by the Histadrut labor federation following the IDF's recovery over the weekend of six hostage bodies.
gaza, hostages, israel, war, netanyahu
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2024-54-02
Monday, 02 September 2024 11:54 AM
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