The families of hostages held in Gaza for nearly eight months are urging both Israel and Hamas to accept the terms of a new deal set out by President Biden on Friday.
The US president laid out a three-phase plan proposed by Israel to Hamas, which would lead to an “enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages”, he said.
Stating that Hamas was “no longer capable” of carrying out an attack on the scale seen on October 7, Biden said that the three stages would lead to the release of all the hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, truckloads of aid entering Gaza and a plan for the reconstruction of the region.
.jpg?w=732&q=0.6)
President Biden sets out the three-phase ceasefire deal, which would secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza (Photo: Getty Images)Getty Images
Responding to Biden’s announcement, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's "conditions for ending the war have not changed", which included "the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel".
Israel would "continue to insist these conditions are met" before agreeing to sign a deal.
But families of hostages have said that time is running out for those captives who remain in Gaza.
Hoping to rally the support in the Knesset for the new proposals, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum announced that they had launched an “emergency operation” to secure votes for the ceasefire deal.
According to the Times of Israel, the forum released a statement on Saturday, saying it “demands that hostages are returned, some for recovery and some for burial, and not to miss the opportunity created to bring them home.”
“In the next few hours, families of abductees will reach all the members of the cabinet, the government, and the Knesset and demand to approve the [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s deal now.”
The family of Carmel Gat , 40 (pictured), held hostage in Gaza, is calling for both sides to accept the deal,which would secure the release of the hostages[Missing Credit]
Gili Roman, whose sister Yarden Roman-Gat, 36, was freed in a hostage deal in November, but who is now campaigning for the release of Yarden’s sister-in-law, Carmel, 40, said: “We want to see people coming back from Gaza, alive and soon. This might be the last chance to save lives. Therefore, the current state must be changed, and we expect all to adhere to Biden’s call for accepting the deal on the table, immediately. There is no other way towards a better situation for all. Our leadership must not disappoint us. But mostly, all eyes should be on Hamas.”
Many hostage families blame the Israeli government’s inability to secure a deal for the deaths of many of the hostages in captivity.
Sharone Lifschitz, daughter of hostage Oded Lifschitz, 84 (pictured), is calling for the Israeli government to press ahead with a hostage deal[Missing Credit]
UK-based Israeli Sharone Lipschitz, whose mother Yocheved, 85, was freed in November, but whose father, Oded, 84, is still being held, said: “We know that the government of Israel has done an awful lot to delay reaching a deal and that has cost the lives of many people who survived in captivity for weeks and weeks and months and months. Our hearts are broken by the amount of people we will receive that are no longer alive.”
Their calls come amidst the largest protest in Israel since October 7. According to organisers,120,000 people, including relatives of captives, demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday, calling for the hostage deal to be pushed through, the dismissal of Netanyahu and for early elections.
Mounted Israeli police try to disperse a demonstration by relatives and supporters of hostages, in Tel Aviv, early this morning, following what is believed to have been the largest demonstration in Israel since October 7 (Photo: Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
On October 7, over 1,200 people were murdered during an attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel and over 250 taken hostage into Gaza. More than 120 are still there, of whom 37 are believed to have been killed, with the terrorists holding onto their bodies.
The proposed deal comes ahead of a global march in 24 cities around the world on Sunday June 2, which will call for the release of the hostages. The march through central London will start at 1.30pm at Lincoln’s Inn Fields Park.
