‘This is a death sentence for the people we love most’

As anger grows over Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to ‘finish the job’ in Gaza, hostages’ families in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem tell Bel Trew they want Israeli and Palestinian suffering to end

- Bel Trew

These are the desperate pleas of Yotam Cohen, whose younger brother Nimrod, a then 19-year-old Israeli soldier serving mandatory service, was taken captive to Gaza by Hamas militants during their deadly 7 October attack on Israel nearly two years ago.

Over the weekend, Yotam joined tens of thousands of people who marched on Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Wielding portraits of their loved ones and banners, they urged world leaders to intervene.

They protested against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial plan to expand the devastating 22-month bombardment of Gaza - a plan he defended yesterday, vowing in a press conference to "finish the job... finish Hamas".

At the mass protest, some family members even called on soldiers to refuse to serve in the expanded fighting, and for the opposition to call a general strike. It follows waves of rallies across the country by Israelis calling on their government to return to the negotiating table.

"Israel must be stopped. The Israeli government has to be stopped. Hamas must be pressured to achieve a deal. But the main problem right now is the Israeli government," Yotam says bluntly. The decision to expand the war was pushed through the security cabinet last week, despite fierce resistance from Israel's chief of staff Eyal Zamir and numerous former security and intelligence officials.

It will see Israeli forces, which according to the United Nations effectively hold more than 85 per cent of the strip, push into the last corners of the tiny enclave, starting with Gaza City, with the intent of taking full “security control”.