As thousands of Israelis marched toward Jerusalem on Saturday to demand the release of hostages detained in Gaza, peace talks in Cairo were set to continue, with a potential exchange agreement with Hamas.Leading a procession of demonstrators were the families of hostages taken by Palestinian militants on October 7, during Hamas’s deadly assault through southern Israel. The demonstrators reached Jerusalem at dusk by walking up the hilly roadway.They wrapped up a four-day march that started near one of the locations affected by the October terror assault, holding aloft Israeli flags, yellow balloons, and posters of the captives. More demonstrators were anticipated to join them at a rally outside the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
We’re marching here to show our solidarity for the families of the abducted people and to hope for their prompt and safe release. Every step we take, we’re praying for them,” marcher Danny Cuperman declared. Talks for a Gaza truce are anticipated to go back up on Sunday in the Egyptian capital. President of the United States Joe Biden expressed his hope that a cease-fire would be in place by the start of Ramadan, which begins on March 10 for Muslims. If an agreement is achieved, dozens of hostages may be released. Yair Mozes, whose father Gadi, 79, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, stated, “This is the only humane thing that can happen.” “They have to be returning home. That concludes it.
Since January, negotiations for a cease-fire have been mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar. Following the latest agreement, there was a week-long ceasefire in November. During that period, Israel freed over three times as many Palestinian female and adolescent captives as Hamas had released over 100 hostages, the majority of them were women, teens, and children. According to Israeli authorities, 134 captives are still being kept incommunicado in the coastal enclave over five months into the conflict in Gaza. Men and women, soldiers and citizens, a youngster and his younger brother are among them. In their October 7 onslaught, Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapped 253, according to Israel. In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive on Gaza that has claimed the lives of over 30,000 Palestinians.
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