Families of Israeli hostages urge Netanyahu to arrange swap deal before US trip

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Families of Israelis held captive in Gaza demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening to arrange a deal to bring back their relatives before his upcoming trip to Washington.

This came in a protest organized by the families in Tel Aviv during which nearly 300 people participated and marched towards the headquarters of the Defense Ministry, according to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

“No travel without a deal,” reads a banner waved by protesters as they carried photos of the hostages, referring to Netanyahu's planned visit to the United States.

“This is the moment we tell Netanyahu; you won't travel until we bring everyone back – now,” they chanted.

Netanyahu is scheduled to make a diplomatic visit to Washington on Sunday, his first since forming his current government in December 2022.

Israel estimates around 120 Israelis are held by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, in Gaza.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 38,800 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 89,100 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala