Israel’s public sentiment is far from the verge of celebratory due to the delay in a hostage release deal, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims major victories over Hamas and Hezbollah, according to CNN.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu said Israel had hit the main faces of Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah, which are enemies of Israel and allies of Iran. Netanyahu was celebrating the assassination of Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr and retaliatory strikes against the Houthis in Yemen last month. Additionally to the two military leaders, Hamas accused Israel of assassinating its political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who died on Wednesday in Tehran, but Israel has yet to comment on the killing.
In the meantime, anti-government rallies have been taking place in several Israeli cities this weekend, with tens of thousands of Israelis demanding that the prime minister find a way to reach the agreement with the Hamas in order to free more than 100 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
In Tel Aviv, in contrast, the population is on alert due to fears of an Iranian attack in response to the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Despite the anxiety, large crowds gathered at Begin Gate on Saturday to support the families of the hostages and call for their release from captivity, protest organisers said. Video shows protesters waving Israeli flags and holding placards with images of Israeli hostages. Another example: at the Begin gate of the Kirya IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, people were chanting: “We’re not letting up; release the hostages,” others shouted: “Stop the death, stop the bereavement, human lives above all!”
Moreover, polls clearly show that the majority of Israelis prioritise the release of hostages over continuing the war. The recent poll showed that 56 per cent of Israelis support the deal to release all hostages and end the war in Gaza. It also revealed the majority of right-wing Israelis, for their part, have a strong desire to continue the war in accordance with the prime minister, who has previously warned of the full destruction of Hamas.
“A large majority of those on the left and in the centre consider a deal for the release of hostages to be the highest priority,” the survey said, “while the majority on the right prioritize a military operation in Rafah.”
According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a total of 115 hostages, alive and dead, remain currently detained in Gaza. Of that number, 111 hostages were taken during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, which killed more than 1,200 people.
Israeli society demands the truth be told
In a tense meeting of Israel’s Security Council on Wednesday night, senior officials called on Netanyahu to conclude the ceasefire agreement with the Hamas militant group in Gaza. Mossad director David Barnea had said “there is a deal ready and that Israel must take it,” but Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, said he believed the prime minister was unwilling to let the deal plan come up for discussion.
The community and family members of those still detained have criticised Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict and are now demanding a public explanation for his government’s failure to negotiate an agreement that would free the remaining Israeli hostages.
The association representing the families accused the Israeli leader of choosing to escalate the situation instead of making a deal that would have saved lives. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also released a statement on Telegram calling on Israel’s security chiefs to “tell the public the truth,” writing as follows: “If the government of Israel has given up on the hostages, it needs to be honest with the families and stop playing games.”
Israel’s prime minister is facing criticism that he has lost focus on one of the main aims of the war, which was to return the abductees because they are unlikely to return home without a ceasefire agreement. But he has simultaneously come under pressure from far-right ministers in his coalition to postpone the ceasefire agreement and continue the war in Gaza, which today shows no sign of ending.
Even before the latest escalation, critics accused Netanyahu of obstructing negotiations leading to an agreement and of instead clinging to a protracted war in an attempt to ensure his own political survival and that of his coalition. The people of Israel, at the same time, are preparing for a possible Iranian retaliatory strike that could plunge the Middle East into a full-scale war that would involve other regional players and possibly the United States.
