Thousands in Israel demand prisoner-hostage deal

Israeli demonstrators rally in Tel Aviv, Haifa, according to local media

JERUSALEM:

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday, demanding a prisoner-hostage swap deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Kaplan Square, central Tel Aviv, to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to finalize a prisoner-hostage exchange deal, according to state-run public broadcaster KAN.

The protesters threatened to intensify demonstrations if a deal is not reached within the next week, it reported, adding that protesters chanted against Netanyahu and accused him of disregarding the lives of the hostages in Gaza.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that "thousands of Israelis protested in Haifa (north) and at dozens of locations across the country, calling for a hostage swap deal, a cease-fire, and early elections to oust Netanyahu's government."

Earlier, the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza said Netanyahu was torpedoing a deal by setting new conditions.

The Israeli negotiating team informed Netanyahu on Saturday that there was "cautious optimism" about the possibility of moving forward with a deal.

The US, Egypt, and Qatar presented a new proposal to Israel and Hamas aimed at closing the remaining gaps to facilitate the deal's swift implementation.

According to a joint statement, discussions held over two days in the Qatari capital Doha were described as "serious and constructive" and conducted in a positive atmosphere.

While the mediators did not disclose the specifics of the new proposal, they said it aligned with the principles of a three-phase cease-fire plan outlined by US President Joe Biden on May 31, as well as with Security Council Resolution 2735.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed more than 40,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,400, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.