Jerusalem:
Screaming relatives of Hamas attack victims interrupted a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday during October 7 commemorations.
Netanyahu stood motionless at a lectern during the ceremony in Jerusalem as audience members in the crowd shouted, interrupting him for more than a minute, according to a live broadcast of the speech.
One of the protesters repeatedly shouted, “My father was killed”.
Public and diplomatic pressure has been on Netanyahu’s administration to do more to strike a deal for securing the release of captives still held in Gaza.
#Netanyahu | “Be ashamed of yourself”… Hurtful words from the families of Israeli prisoners of the resistance attack Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his speech on the anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. pic.twitter.com/uASeLsk1co
— Jerusalem Captive (@JerusalemCapti) October 27, 2024
Israeli spy chief David Barnea is scheduled to head to Doha on Sunday for talks aimed at restarting negotiations towards reaching a Gaza hostage release deal.
Families of the remaining hostages along with several Western leaders have called on the Israeli government to broker an agreement after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month.
Israeli and US officials as well as some analysts said Sinwar had been a key obstacle to a deal allowing for the release of 97 hostages still held by militants in Gaza, 34 of whom the Israeli military says are dead.
Critics in Israel have also accused Netanyahu of obstructing mediation for a truce and hostage-release deal.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said military action by itself will not achieve the country’s war aims, which include bringing home the hostages.
“Not all objectives can be achieved through military operations alone… To realise our moral duty to bring our hostages home, we will have to make painful concessions,” Gallant said in a separate speech marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack, which on October 7 last triggered the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory.
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