i24News reports:

As part of a day of action, Israeli demonstrators demanded an immediate deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza for over 100 days since the Hamas-led October 7 attack. Several streets and junctions across the country were blocked.

At the same time, a demonstration was held at Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. Families of hostages, fallen soldiers, reservists, victims of October 7 and the evacuated citizens themselves in protest prevented aid trucks from entering the Strip.

“It is unacceptable that Israel should continue to provide aid to Hamas, which enables it to survive and thus endanger IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza”, a representative of the Kerem Shalom protestors said. “All aid to Hamas should be conditional on the return of the abductees and the disarmament of Hamas.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi claimed the Israeli government was already using this tactic of delaying humanitarian aid, saying “This is part of the way they exert pressure on the release of the abductees.”

Meanwhile in central Israel, particularly in Tel Aviv and its suburbs, hundreds of demonstrators held up placards “Their time is running out” and blocked traffic. The main demonstration will take place in the evening, among them women’s rights groups and families of the abducted, as well as the returned hostages themselves. [Continue reading…]