Family members of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip have stormed a parliamentary meeting in Jerusalem to demand that Israel’s government does more to return their loved ones, as fighting in Khan Younis reached unprecedented levels.

About 20 relatives of people seized as captives by the Palestinian militant group in the 7 October attack disrupted a Knesset finance committee meeting on Monday, chanting: “Release them now, now, now!”

One woman, who has three family members taken by Hamas, cried: “Just one I’d like to get back alive, one out of three.” Other protesters held up signs reading: “You will not sit here while they die there.”

On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected new Hamas conditions for ending the war and releasing the hostages including the Islamist group retaining control of Gaza and Israel withdrawing completely. In response, a Hamas official in Qatar said Netanyahu’s refusal to end the military offensive in Gaza meant there was “no chance for the return of the captives”.

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  • Spzi@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    Has the general consensus changed about how to deal with hostage takers? I think it was “don’t negotiate with terrorists” not long ago. Very tough for the relatives, but meant to prevent more harm in the future, by spoiling the plans of the terrorists.

    When reading reports and comments about the Israeli hostages in Gaza, I get a different impression. Why is that, what is different?
    Are there no concerns for encouraging more hostage taking this time?

  • raynethackery@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Drag all the Knesset members outside and put them in combat gear. Then ship them off to Gaza in front of all the other soldiers. If you are not willing to lead at the battlefield, you have no right to lead from your comfortable offices and homes.

    • Guydht@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      As much as I agree on the “no dealing with terrorist” rule, you can’t expect the families to not protest and do everything in their power to get their loved ones homes.

  • alvvayson@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Honestly, the one thing that really surprises me about this war is how little the Israeli government cares about the hostages.

    They really do value land more than human lives.

    And the absolute cold blooded attitude they have towards innocent Palestinians is horrifying.

    Regardless of what the ICJ decides, for me people who support Hamas, ISIS, Russia, deny the Holocaust, neo-nazis or those who support the state of Israel are all immoral persons.

    And it is difficult to accept that most people are actually quite comfortable with evil. It seems to be that people are just tribal in which evil they support and which evil they object to.

  • Mrkawfee@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    If they’re this callous toward their own citizens you can imagine how barbaric they are to Palestinians