Thousands rally across Israel to demand hostage swap deal with Palestinian factions

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - Dozens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets across the country on Saturday, demanding a hostage swap deal with Palestinian factions.

Earlier, the Israeli army announced that it launched attacks on various locations in the central part of the Gaza Strip and successfully rescued a total of four Israeli captives from two different areas.

Thousands of Israelis held a protest in Tel Aviv’s downtown, demanding a hostage swap deal and the dismissal of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the Israeli broadcasting authority reported.

According to the authority, the demonstrators said that the 120 hostages still in Gaza should not be forgotten.

Demonstrations were also held at Haifa, Kfar Saba, Caesarea, Ra'anana, and Karkur junctions.

Meanwhile, Israeli police arrested three demonstrators in Haifa on charges of inciting riots.

Earlier Saturday, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported: “in the wake of the release of the four captives today, about 1,000 people demonstrated at Karkur junction, demanding continued efforts to release the other captives through a deal.”

The demonstrators held signs expressing joy at the release of the captives, mixed with sadness and concern for the fate of the other 120 captives, the daily added.

Earlier, the Hamas-run Government Media Office said that at least 210 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 injured in severe Israeli airstrikes targeting Nuseirat refugee camp, areas east of Deir al-Balah, and al-Bureij and al-Maghazi camps in central Gaza, coinciding with a sudden incursion of vehicles east and northwest of Nuseirat.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala