Family members of hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza called on the public to join them in a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that will begin Wednesday and conclude Saturday night at a rally in support of the current hostage deal.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, will participate in the four-day walk, and asked the public to join her.
“I am speaking to each and every one of you from my heart – come march with us.
“There is a deal that we must not miss, and only public pressure will prevent the deal from being torpedoed,” she said. “If there is one moment when it is time to get off the sofa and make your voice heard, I’m telling you, the moment has arrived,” she said.
“Let’s go from anguish to hope. Let’s raise a great cry in favor of a deal that will bring everyone back.
“Come with us and together we will bring them back home.”
Protests for the hostages have been ramping up significantly in the past week, as there have been media reports of a Hamas counter-offer to a hostage deal that Israeli officials say is close to a deal that Israel can accept.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said this is the closest Israel has been to a hostage deal since the one reached in November, journalist Yaron Avraham said on 103FM last week.
"Day of disruption"
The possibility of a feasible deal that would bring the hostages home has been used by protest organizations to mobilize protesters, and protests over the past weekend were some of the biggest and most significant since the start of the war.Sunday saw a “day of disruption” – the final event in a four-day streak of protests for the hostages, which included thousands of protesters at dozens of locations across the country. Some protesters called for elections as well as the return of the hostages. The day was reminiscent of days of disruption held during the judicial reform crisis in terms of size and scope.Protest organizations and hostage families are continuing to make the assertion that this is a moment of hope for the possibility of the hostages being released, and that the public must mobilize to create the public pressure to make this happen.