Families of Israeli hostages block road in Tel Aviv

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - The families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip shut down a vital road in Tel Aviv to demand an immediate deal with Hamas for the release of their loved ones, according to local media.

"Deal or Execution," read a large banner raised by the protesting families, who blocked Menachem Begin Street in front of the Defense Ministry, broadcaster Channel 12 reported on Thursday.

The road passes in front of several government buildings in Tel Aviv.

However, thousands of Israeli right-wing demonstrators protested in Jerusalem and demanded the government not stop the fighting in Gaza or sign a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance group.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing mounting public pressure, including from some politicians affiliated with his War Cabinet, for being unable to ensure the safe return of the hostages, in addition to accusations of his government's failure to detect and deal with Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

Earlier on Thursday, the Gaza-based group announced that a delegation it had sent had arrived in Cairo "to continue discussions related to a cease-fire" with Israel.

On Wednesday, informed Palestinian sources told Anadolu that Hamas had agreed to a proposal for a prisoner exchange and cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, adding a detailed annex of demands regarding the plan’s implementation.

The sources said Hamas' response to the framework proposal presented to it last week includes a plan of three stages, each lasting 45 days, during which military operations on both sides would cease completely, and prisoners and remains would be exchanged.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are about 136 Israeli hostages in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both sides, but there is no confirmation on the final number from either side.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas in October, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 27,947 Palestinians have since been killed and 67,459 injured in the ensuing Israeli onslaught, according to local health authorities.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced by the Israeli offensive, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of residents are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of the aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul