UPDATE 2 - Hundreds of Israelis protest outside ministers’ houses to demand completion of Gaza ceasefire deal

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Zein Khalil and Betul Yilmaz

JERUSALEM, Palestine (AA) — Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated outside the homes of several government ministers on Sunday to demand the completion of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Videos shared on social media showed protesters gathering outside the residence of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Tel Aviv.

“You are betraying hostages and citizens,” “No hostages were returned yesterday” and “Israeli government violated agreement on returning hostages home” chanted protesters during the protest.

Similar protests were staged outside the homes of the ministers of education, transport, innovation, strategic affairs, Diaspora affairs, and the head of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Protesters raised photos of Israeli hostages in Gaza amid calls for returning the captives home.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “decided to violate the agreement and drag us into a futile war, in complete disregard of the Israeli interest and the will of the people,” the mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker said in statements carried by Haaretz newspaper.

“He is burying them in the tunnels of death for the sake of a bunch of delusional people who are disconnected from reality,” she said, referring to far-right members of his coalition government.

The Israeli mother said the survival of Netanyahu’s government “is more important to him than the lives of civilians and soldiers who were abandoned during his reign.”

In Jerusalem, hundreds of Israelis gathered in a demonstration demanding the government complete all stages of the prisoner swap deal.

Daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the protesters, including the families of those captured or killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, called on Netanyahu government to finalize the agreement for the release of all those held in Gaza.

The daily reported that protesters held signs accusing Netanyahu of obstructing the completion of the prisoner exchange deal for “political and personal reasons.”

On Saturday, an Israeli prisoner held by Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades appeared in a video, calling on his family and fellow Israelis to continue protesting until Netanyahu signs the second phase of the agreement to release the prisoners.

Israel estimates that 59 hostages are still held in Gaza with at least 20 of them alive and they are expected to be set free in the second phase of the ceasefire, which would require Israel to fully withdraw its forces from Gaza and end the war permanently.

The Israeli premier halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday, hours after the end of the 1st phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu had sought to extend the initial exchange phase to secure the release of as many Israeli captives as possible without offering anything in return or fulfilling the military and humanitarian obligations of the agreement.

The Palestinian group Hamas has refused to proceed under these conditions, insisting that Israel abide by the terms of the ceasefire and immediately start negotiations for the second phase, which includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a complete halt to the war.

The agreement has halted Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 48,380 victims, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.