Ohad Ben Ami, who was released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on February 8, called on Israelis on Monday to demonstrate to demand Israel comply with all phases of the ceasefire agreement.
“Our victory will come when the agreement moves to the next phase, and then to the next, until everyone comes home,” Ben Ami said during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in remarks shared by his office.
The released prisoner noted that today marks 500 days since October 7, when thousands of Palestinian terrorists, led by Hamas, broke through the fence surrounding the Gaza Strip and attacked Israeli border communities, kidnapping 251 people and killing some 1.200.
“Every day that they stay there, every minute, they count the seconds, the minutes… Not the days”, Ben Ami said of the hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with his government's security cabinet on Monday to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which was due to begin negotiations in early February and which would free the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip and lay the groundwork for a definitive end to the war.
Some members of the government, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have demanded that Israel resume fighting in Gaza once the first phase of the truce ends, in which 33 hostages are to be released (19 have already been released) in exchange for some 1.900 Palestinian terrorist prisoners.
There are still 70 Israeli hostages in Gaza out of the 251 kidnapped on October 7, of whom at least 35 are dead, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In addition, there are three hostages who have been held for a decade, including a dead soldier. All of them are covered by the ceasefire agreement and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian terrorist prisoners, which came into effect on January 19.
Herzog, who is one of the Israeli representatives who has most strongly demanded a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages with Hamas, said today during his meeting with Ben Ami that he is aware of the risks of the agreement, but the priority should be to save the hostages.
“I am expressing the deepest feelings of the people of Israel: to bring them back as soon as possible and complete the agreement.“the president said.
To mark the 500 days of captivity of their loved ones, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons is holding a 500-minute fast today, and a demonstration in Tel Aviv at which freed hostages and relatives of those still in captivity will speak.
This morning, a group of relatives and activists began a march through Jerusalem from Netanyahu's residence to Parliament, demanding that the ceasefire agreement in Gaza be maintained.
another puppet of the left and Hamas