Israelis demand release of Gaza hostages on “Day of Rage”.

War in the Middle East

Thousands of women in Israel have called for a “Day of Rage.” They took to the streets in many cities and demanded the release of the Gaza hostages. Meanwhile, mediators in the war are trying to reach a new ceasefire. The day at a glance.

More news about the war in the Middle East

Thousands of women demonstrated in Israel on Wednesday demanding a quick deal to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip. The organizers had announced a nationwide “Day of Rage”. The protesters blocked roads and intersections in various locations, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem.

“Women take to the streets to reclaim female hostages,” read one of the signs carried by protesters. “Enough with the bloodshed, we want a deal on the table,” read another.

According to the media, thousands of demonstrators blocked an important highway in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv in the evening. There were clashes with the police.

Hopes for a ceasefire and negotiations

Several media outlets recently reported on hopes for another deal to release hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners and a longer ceasefire. However, an Israeli representative said, according to the ynet news site, that there is still a very large gap between the negotiating positions of Israel and the Islamist Hamas. “You shouldn’t give anyone any illusions, it will take a very long time,” he said. Hamas rejected an offer from Israel for a new hostage deal on Wednesday, Israel’s Kan broadcaster reported.

During a week-long ceasefire at the end of November, Hamas released 105 hostages. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from prisons.

Fear of rape, torture and executions

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said on Tuesday: “Time is running out for the hostages. We fear that they will be tortured, raped and executed in Hamas’ terror dungeons.” Israel believes that terrorists are still holding more than 130 people they kidnapped from Israel into the Gaza Strip during their attack on October 7th. According to Israeli information, 28 are no longer alive. The hostages include two children and 19 women. The youngest is 13 years old, Levy said.

While Israel’s army increasingly takes action against the Islamist Hamas in southern Gaza, mediators in the war are trying to find a new ceasefire. Hopes for a possible new agreement to free Israeli hostages from Hamas’s control in return for a longer break in fighting have increased, the newspaper “The Times of Israel” reported last night. Meanwhile, there was renewed mutual shelling between Israel’s army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia on Israel’s border with Lebanon. The US military, in turn, responded to an attack by pro-Iranian militias in Iraq with a counterstrike.

Hamas reportedly open to hostage release talks

According to a media report, Hamas is said to have shown itself open to negotiating the release of some Israeli hostages. The Islamists have told mediators they are willing to talk about the release of the female civilians and children in return for a “significant” ceasefire, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials. During a week-long ceasefire at the end of November last year, Hamas released 105 hostages. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons.

Hamas has so far linked any further release of hostages to an end to the war. According to Israeli government information, terrorists are still holding around 130 people who they kidnapped from Israel into the Gaza Strip during their attack on October 7th. Among them are Israeli soldiers, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Israeli government believes that 105 hostages are still alive and many of them are being held in Hamas’ underground tunnel network.

According to information from the news portal Axios, Israel is said to have proposed a two-month ceasefire in return for the release of all hostages. The offer was handed over to mediators from Egypt and Qatar, who are currently trying to bridge the gap between the different demands. Although the latest development is positive, it does not mean that an agreement is imminent, wrote the Wall Street Journal. The talks could still fail, according to Egyptian officials.

Guterres criticizes Netanyahu

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres criticized Israel’s prime minister’s rejection of a two-state solution Benjamin Netanyahu and other government members before the UN Security Council. “This rejection and denial of the Palestinian people’s right to their own state would indefinitely prolong this conflict, which has become a major threat to world peace and security,” he said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke out in New York in favor of a two-state solution and also criticized Netanyahu’s negative stance on this issue. At the same time, he called for the release of all hostages and a ceasefire.

Israel’s army: more than 100 terrorists killed in Khan Yunis

Meanwhile, Israel’s army says it has killed dozens more terrorists in the Khan Yunis area in the south of the Gaza Strip. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in the evening that more than 100 terrorists were “eliminated” in the west of the city on Tuesday. The information cannot yet be independently verified. The army said it had surrounded the city, which is considered a Hamas stronghold, the day before. Israel suspects that Hamas leaders and Israeli hostages are in underground tunnels there.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least 210 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip within 24 hours. More than 380 others were injured, according to Wednesday’s statement. This means that the number of people killed in the coastal strip since the war began on October 7th has risen to at least 25,700. Around 63,740 others were injured. The numbers can hardly be verified independently.

The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in southern Israel on October 7th. They murdered 1,200 people. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive.

US military responds to attack in Iraq with counterstrike

Meanwhile, the U.S. military in Iraq launched air strikes at three facilities used by the Kataib Hezbollah militia and other Iran-linked groups in Iraq, according to the U.S. military’s regional command on Platform X, formerly Twitter. communicated at night. A few days ago, fighters fired rockets at the Ain Al-Assad base.

Because of the Gaza war, the security situation in the entire region is tense. The troops of the USA – Israel’s most important ally – are also in the sights of pro-Iranian militias. Iran wants to use them to create an “axis of resistance” against Israel. In recent weeks they have increased their attacks on US bases in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Another exchange of fire on Israel’s border with Lebanon

Meanwhile, fighting broke out again on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in the evening that Israeli fighter jets had “attacked terrorist targets and destroyed an important military facility that was used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and also operated by Iranian forces” in the northern neighboring country. The army spokesman did not provide any further details. (dpa/cgo)

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