Protests have erupted across Israel as citizens gather to call for a deal to release the remaining 76 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as to call for an election.
In Jerusalem, protesters have spread from Paris Square to Zion Square, nearly two kilometers.
In Ra’anana, protesters have blocked Highway 4, and Karkur junction in Pardes Hanna has also been blocked off.
“Tonight, the families of the hostages call upon the public to gather at the Hostages Square and declare together: Get them out of hell. Now!” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters stated.
“The entire nation watched today as Eli, Ohad, and Or returned after surviving 491 days in captivity - their lives were saved thanks to the deal. This morning's images testify to the harsh reality the 76 hostages still held in Hamas' underground hell in Gaza.”
Speakers at the protests
The protests have multiple speakers lined up, including former hostage Sharon Aloni Cunio, Nissan, brother of former hostage Ofer Kalderon, and a video statement from former hostage Karina Ariev.
"Until just a few days ago, I was still a hostage in Gaza. Today, it feels like a dream. I survived to remember; I survived to tell," Karina shared.
"The days there were a nightmare. There were times when I told myself - this is it, you won't get out of there anymore. But then I saw the rallies and the people who took to the streets for us. Your enormous support is what saved me."
Karina emphasized her commitment to the hostages who remain in Gaza, saying, "We must do everything so that everyone returns. We are their voice, we are their hope."
"The difficult images from this morning remind us how urgent it is to bring everyone back and how we could have brought them back long ago,” Gal Goren, son of Maya, whose body was recovered from Gaza, said at Paris Square.
“But our blood government, even now after these images, sees them only as an excuse to sabotage why not to continue. And that's because they are cowards.”
“I stand here as a survivor and as, I hope, the wife of a future survivor. I no longer know if I'll earn that title,” Sharon Aloni Cunio, hostage survivor and wife of David Cunio, said.
“This is what happens when we forget the sacred principle – NEVER AGAIN. What is the meaning of NEVER AGAIN if here in our country, an hour's drive from Tel Aviv, Jews are left to die in Auschwitz-like conditions? Never Again is a commitment. It's a demand from us, from every citizen, from every leader, that we will never again allow our fate to be in others' hands.”
She continued, “Never Again means no more Jews appearing from darkness as human skeletons. Never Again means: 4-year-old girls kidnapped from their beds in pajamas should not cry every evening asking where daddy is, with mom having no answer.”