Family members of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza stormed into an Israeli parliament panel to demand action on Monday.
Roughly 20 protesters burst into the Knesset Finance Committee meeting, with many holding pictures of their loved ones. Roughly 130 hostages are believed to remain in Hamas custody.
‘Just one I’d like to get back alive, one out of three!’ shouted a woman who had photos of three relatives being held hostage.
‘You will not sit here while they die there,’ others shouted. ‘Release them now, now, now!’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced growing demands from relatives of hostages to cut a deal with Hamas. One lawmaker inside the committee meeting on Monday argued that disrupting Netanyahu’s government would not be helpful.
‘Redeeming captives is the most important precept in Judaism, especially in this case, where there is an urgency to preserving life,’ he said. ‘Quitting the coalition would not achieve anything.’
Netanyahu himself responded to similar protests on Monday as well, denying that Israel had rejected a proposal from Hamas.
‘There is no real proposal by Hamas. It’s not true. I am saying this as clearly as I can because there are so many incorrect statements which are certainly agonising for you,’ Netanyahu’s office quoted him as telling hostage relatives in a separate incident.
Israel says it remains open to a second wave of hostage exchanges if Hamas agrees to the correct terms.
The new negotiations come amid boiling tensions in the wider region, as Iran and its proxy terrorist groups attack Israel, the U.S. and international shipping lanes.
The Islamic Republic of Iran launched drone and missile attacks into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan in less than 24 hours last week. The regime’s open warfare follows its military aid to Hamas ahead of the organization’s massacre of 1,200 people on Oct. 7 in southern Israel.
The U.S. has sought to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas from spreading into a wider conflict in the region. Nevertheless, Israel has threatened to expand the war to include Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group operating Lebanon to Israel’s north.
Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal and Reuters contributed to this report
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