The Daily Beast reports:

Relatives of Israelis still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza stormed into a committee session in the Israeli parliament on Monday to demand that lawmakers take immediate action to bring their loved ones home.

Around 20 people rushed into the Knesset Finance Committee hearing in Jerusalem carrying signs and chanting “release them now, now, now!” Around 130 of the 253 people abducted and taken to Gaza during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel are feared to still be in captivity as the conflict enters its fourth month.

One woman involved in the demonstration held up pictures of three of her family members taken by Hamas. “Just one I’d like to get back alive, one out of three!” the woman cried, according to Reuters. Another held a sign reading: “You will not sit here while they die there.” Moshe Gafni, the chair of the panel, replied: “Redeeming captives is the most important precept in Judaism, especially in this case, where there is an urgency to preserving life.”

Some protesters have started camping outside the Knesset building while others pitched tents outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem on Sunday night, according to The Times of Israel, demanding that the government secure a deal for the immediate release of the hostages. [Continue reading…]