Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza block road near Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza closed a main road near the Defense Ministry on Thursday to demand an immediate deal to release their loved ones, according to media reports.

“The families of the hostages closed a road leading to the Kirya area in central Tel Aviv, where the ministry of defense is located, after 153 days of their relatives being held in Gaza,” private Israeli Channel 12 reported.

Protesters held up pictures of the hostages and banners that read: “The time has come” and “Deal now.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces criticism from the public and politicians, including those in the War Cabinet, for the hostage crisis and failure to reach a path ensuring their safe return.

Some accuse him of obstructing a release deal due to “political calculations.”

“Without the return of the captives, there will be no victory, but rather long and ongoing damage to Israel's national resilience,” Israeli War Cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot said Thursday in a speech at an annual conference of the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies.

Meanwhile, the privately-owned Al-Qahera News Channel, which is close to Egyptian authorities, quoted a high-level source who said Thursday that “consultations are ongoing between all parties to reach a cease-fire before the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.”

“A Hamas delegation left Cairo to consult on the cease-fire, and negotiations will resume next week,” said the source.

Negotiations have been taking place in Cairo since Sunday, with Egypt, the US, Qatar and Hamas to broker a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, Al-Qahera News Channel said Wednesday.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are more than 125 hostages in Gaza, while official sources from both sides indicate that Gaza holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons.

A cease-fire held for one week in late November, in which there was a cessation of hostilities, a prisoner exchange and extremely limited humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

That deal was mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.​​​​​​​

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’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 is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice ICJ. 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