Tens of thousands of protesters went to Tel Aviv on Saturday to call at the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, the day after the announcement of the Israeli plan for the conquest of the city of Gaza, the largest in the Palestinian territory.
After 22 months of war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a very strong pressure in Israel and abroad to end his offensive in the Gaza Strip, where more than 2 million Palestinians are threatened with a “generalized famine”, according to the UN.
According to the plan validated by the Israeli security firm, the army “is preparing to take control of the city of Gaza”, a large binding agglomeration in the north of the territory, “while distributing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the fighting areas.”
On Saturday in Tel Aviv, the AFP journalists present at the scene estimated the number of protesters, the hostage families for the forum of 100,000 participants, to tens of thousands. The authorities have not provided an official estimate.
The protesters wielded signs and photos of the hostages that are still held in the Palestinian territory, urging the Government to obtain their liberation.
“We will continue to you”
“If you invade certain parts of Gaza and the hostages are killed, we will continue with you in public places, during the electoral campaigns and at any time and anywhere,” Shahar Zahiro told AFP, a close to a dead hostage, in a “direct message to the prime minister.”
Hamas, who still retains 49 hostages, 27 of which he is presumed dead, said Friday that the Israeli decision to occupy the city of Gaza meant the “sacrifice” of these hostages raised during the unprecedented attack against the Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel on October 7, 2023.
The families of Israeli hostages and activists in favor of peace with the Palestinians demand a high fire with Hamas to obtain the release of the last captives.
But within the Benjamin Netanyahu government, the hard wing of Israeli law and its supporters want to continue occupying and attach more Palestinian territories, ignoring international criticism.
In addition to the disarmament of Hamas and the return “of all hostages, live and dead”, the plan aims to demilitate the Gaza Strip and place it under Israeli control before the establishment “of a civil administration” that would not be “nor Hamas, nor the Palestinian authority,” Mr. Netyahu said on Friday.
“We are not going to occupy Gaza, we are going to free Gaza de Hamas,” who has directed the territory since 2007, Netanyahu said in X. After the announcement of this plan, the UN Security Council will last an emergency meeting on Gaza on Sunday at 10:00 am (2:00 pm GMT).
From Germany, however, one of Israel’s most faithful allies, to the European Union, through France, China, Russia and many Muslim countries, the announcement of this plan aroused international reprobation.
“New crime”
The president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmoud Abbas, denounced on Saturday “a new crime that is added to the series of Israeli crimes committed in the West Bank, even in Jerusalem”, underlining “the urgent need to take measures to immediately end.”
Currently, the Israeli army occupies or operates on the ground in almost 75% of the Gaza Strip, mainly from its permanent positions in the territory along the border. Israel had already occupied Gaza in 1967 and established a set of 21 colonies, dismantled during his unilateral retreat in 2005.
On Saturday, the Civil Defense spokesman of the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Bassal, reported 37 people killed by Israeli attacks or fires, including civilians who expected food help.
According to Mr. Bassal, twelve people died and almost 200 other wounds when the Israeli forces opened fire on them while gathering near a crossing point in northern Gaza, used for the delivery of help.
The Israeli operation in Gaza has already made 61,369 dead in Gaza, mainly civil, according to data from the Ministry of Hamas, considered reliable by the UN. On the Israeli side, the unprecedented attack in Hamas on October 7, 2023 had taken 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count made from official data.
Source: BFM TV
