Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza block road in Tel Aviv

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) – Families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza closed a main street in Tel Aviv on Thursday to pressure the government into striking a deal with the Palestinian group Hamas to release their loved ones, according to local media.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that “dozens of families of the hostages and Israeli protesters closed the main street opposite the Ministry of Defense headquarters, demanding the government to immediately conclude a deal with Hamas that would lead to the release of hostages.”

Dozens of protesters also blocked the beach road in the city of Herzliya in central Israel during a demonstration against the government, demanding the release of the hostages held in Gaza, according to the channel.

Earlier in the day at a news conference in Tel Aviv, families of hostages in Gaza announced their escalation of “struggle measures” to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to release their loved ones, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

Israeli media outlets including the Haaretz daily reported Wednesday that Netanyahu ordered an Israeli delegation that was supposed to travel to Cairo on Thursday to resume negotiations on a prisoner exchange not to go there.

Israel believes that 134 Israelis are still being held in Gaza after the Israeli army managed on Monday to free two hostages in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The ensuing Israeli attack has killed at least 28,663 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala