Israelis urge hostage deal

Protesters hit the streets, slam government inaction as toll in Gaza grows

- WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY AND JACK JEFFERY

Protesters rally outside the Israeli Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The new protest came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against pressure for a ceasefire deal and declared that “no one will preach to me.”

DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP Huge numbers of Israelis again poured into the streets to protest the government’s failure to secure the return of remaining hostages in Gaza, while hospital and local authorities said Israeli air raids in the territory killed more than a dozen people overnight into Saturday.

The new protest came a week after one of the largest demonstrations of the war following the discovery of another six dead hostages in Gaza, and after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against pressure for a ceasefire deal and declared that “no one will preach to me.”

“I think even those who were maybe reluctant to go out, who are not used to protest, who are sad but prefer to be in private space within their sadness, understood our voice must join together to one huge scream: Bring the hostages with a deal. Do not risk their lives,” said a protester Efrat Machikawa, niece of hostage Gadi Moses.