By Euronews | Created at 2025-03-06 15:11:09 | Updated at 2025-03-06 19:09:43
5 hours ago
Relatives of hostages in Gaza protested in Tel Aviv on Thursday, accusing the Israeli prime minister of being responsible for the deaths of the 37 captives.
Relatives of Hamas hostages took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Thursday, asking US President Donald Trump not to cooperate with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Naama Weinberg, whose cousin Itay Svirsky died after 99 days in captivity in Gaza says Netanyahu is "responsible for the death and murder" of 37 hostages.
Addressing Trump at the protest, Weinberg said "don't cooperate with Netanyahu. Don't be the one that abandons the hostages. Don't be the one that would be responsible for the death of those that are still alive there."
But they do want Trump to push Netanyahu to make a deal to release all of those who remain in captivity.
Trump has issued what he calls a “last warning” to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza. In a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, published soon after meeting eight former hostages at the White House on Wednesday, he wrote that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job.”
The sharp language from Trump came as the White House said on Wednesday that US officials have engaged in “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held US policy of not directly engaging with the militant group.
Hamas brushed off Trump's comments on Thursday and reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas accused Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to back out of the ceasefire agreement they reached in January. The agreement calls for negotiations over a second phase in which the hostages would be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Israeli officials say about 24 living hostages as well as the bodies of at least 35 others are believed to still be held in Gaza.
Israel has halted the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies into the Gaza Strip, as it aims to pressure Hamas into accepting an alternative arrangement for the ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, six weeks into the truce.
Video editor • Rory Elliott Armstrong
