On the eve of the 100th day of their captivity, thousands of Israelis protested in Tel Aviv late on Saturday, demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.
Families who presented a model of the tunnels in the occupied Palestinian territories, where their loved ones are allegedly being detained since their kidnapping on October 7, sparked the rallies.
The masses yelled “Now, now, now” for the release of the captives and hoisted a huge banner that said, “And the world remains silent.”
“We will continue to come here week after week until everybody is released,” Edan Begerano, 47, told AFP.
“Everywhere I look, I feel impressed by Israeli people who came massively today to support and to be with us.”
French President Emmanuel Macron sent a video message to the demonstrators calling for negotiations for hostage releases to resume.
“France does not abandon its children,” he said, listing the names of some of the French dual nationals being held.
During a week-long ceasefire in November, about 100 hostages were freed; the Israelis gave them up in exchange for Palestinian detainees detained in Israeli jails.
About a hundred individuals came together separately to demand an end to the conflict and held signs that read, “No to the occupation” and “Revenge is not victory.”
Since the start of the conflict, Saturday night demonstrations in Tel Aviv have become a weekly occurrence; nevertheless, on the 100th day of the conflict, more organizations advocating for the hostage families turned out.
Palestinian took about 250 captives on October 7, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed.
The attack by Hamas also resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
