'They can't survive another winter in tunnels': Families of hostages to protest demanding ceasefire deal

Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza will hold a protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday to mark one year since 105 captives were released under a temporary ceasefire.

The protest will also serve as a renewed push to pressurise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas that would see the rest of the hostages get free.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “A full year has passed since the remaining 101 hostages in captivity believed their freedom was imminent, yet no further deals have materialized.”

It added, “We must save them! They cannot survive another winter in Hamas’s death tunnels.”

The protest will be held in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square where a number of relatives of hostages freed or still held are slated to speak.

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Ever since the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire took effect last week, the world has turned its attention to the Gaza truce that will possibly end hostilities between Israel and Hamas. US President Joe Biden has said that Washington will push for the Israel-Hamas truce with Qatar and Egypt.

Meanwhile, Hamas representatives will attend a ceasefire meeting in Cairo on Saturday to negotiate a truce deal in Gaza.

A representative from the Palestinian terror group told AFP on Friday, “A Hamas delegation will go to Cairo tomorrow for several meetings with Egyptian officials to discuss ideas for a ceasefire and a prisoner accord in the Gaza Strip.”

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Families of hostages are more anxious than ever to get their loved ones back. Last week, family members temporarily blocked off the entrance to Netanyahu’s Knesset office.

“My Prime Minister, we are asking you, just as you quickly resolved Lebanon, resolve Gaza quickly, too. We trust you—you can do it if you choose to. Please, we are begging you, from the depths of our hearts, for our loved ones,” the father of a 19-year-old captive said.