Thousands join anti-regime rallies in Tel Aviv, al-Quds, demanding release of captives

Thousands of settlers have taken part in weekly rallies against the Israeli regime and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war, calling for an end to the onslaught and the release of captives held in the besieged territory.

Protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv and the occupied al-Quds on Saturday night, with reports of clashes between the protesters and police.

Addressing some 1,500 protesters in Tel Aviv, the speakers called on US President-elect Donald Trump to press Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and secure a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas to bring back the Israeli captives.

Relatives of the captives had urged the public to take to the streets en masse at the weekly Saturday night demonstrations.

“Stop arming the revenge campaign in Gaza,” said Shahar Mor, the nephew of one of the captives, even as sources in the US confirmed that outgoing President Joe Biden was seeking a congressional okay for a new $8 billion arms deal with Israel.

Protesters in Tel Aviv hoisted burning torches and lit bonfire on the road, clashing with police who attempted to clear the roadway.

Footage showed mounted police charging into crowds and cops shoving away protesters trying to stop them from carrying people off the road.

At least five people were arrested in Tel Aviv, with the regime’s Walla news website reporting the detention of four protesters outside Netanyahu’s residence in the occupied al-Quds.

The rallies come amid ongoing negotiations in Doha, where Qatari mediators met with an Israeli delegation and Hamas representatives for discussions aimed at reaching a ceasefire deal and the return of captives held in Gaza.

Talks had stalled for roughly a week and a half after Netanyahu called back the Israeli team from Qatar for deliberations ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Hamas captured at least 250 Israeli soldiers and settlers following its unprecedented operation against the occupied territories on October 7, 2023.

The resistance group released 105 of the captives during a week-long truce last November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held illegally in Israeli jails.

Most of the Israeli captives are still held in Gaza, though some have fallen victim to relentless Israeli airstrikes over the past 15 months. The issue has become a significant challenge for the Netanyahu regime.

Hamas holds Netanyahu “directly responsible for the killing of dozens of captives due to bringing the ceasefire efforts to a failure.”

Israel paying with blood for every single day of stay in Gaza: Report

The Israeli media have acknowledged the regime’s failure to achieve its declared goals in the 15-month-old war on the Gaza Strip, stressing that the occupying entity is paying with blood the cost of staying in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The Gaza-based resistance movement has repeatedly said that there is no alternative to “a ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation forces, and the implementation of a prisoner exchange agreement” in return for the release of the Israeli captives.

Netanyahu has long been obstructing mediation for a truce and a deal to release the captives still held by Palestinian groups in Gaza.

After 15 months of the Gaza onslaught, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its declared objectives of eliminating Hamas and freeing captives, despite killing more than 45,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

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