Israelis rally in Tel Aviv for release of hostages on the eve of 100th day of their captivity

Relatives and supporters hold placards bearing portraits of Israeli hostages held in Gaza during a rally calling for their release and marking their nearly 100 days of captivity, in Tel Aviv on January 13, 2024.  © Ahmad Gharabli, AFP

Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv late Saturday calling for the release of hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas militants, on the eve of the 100th day of their captivity. The protest came as Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu said “no one will stop” his country from achieving victory and as the US carried out a fresh strike on a Houthi rebel target in Yemen, amid fears the conflict could engulf the wider region.

Summary: 

• Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza gathered for a 24-hour protest in Tel Aviv to call for their release and mark the nearly 100 days since the October 7 Hamas attack.
• The US carried out a fresh strike on Saturday on a Houthi rebel target in Yemen after the Iran-backed militants warned of further attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The strike on a Houthi radar site comes amid heightened fears that Israel’s war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas could engulf the wider region.
• Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in central London on Saturday as part of a “global day of action” to oppose Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza. Protests also took place in Johannesburg and Lahore. 
• Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that no one will stop Israel from achieving victory in its war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
• Visiting the devastated Gaza Strip, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said “the massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity“.
• Israeli officials say 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children. Militant fighters took some 240 hostages during the attack, and 136 are still in Gaza, Israeli foreign ministry adviser Tal Becker said on January 12.
• At least 23,843 people have been killed and 60,317 wounded in Israel’s ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The majority of the victims were Children and women
• France’s President Emmanuel Macron called Saturday for fresh talks for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip
• With the war in Gaza entering its 100th day on Sunday, the World Health Organization has said only 15 of the territories’ 36 hospitals still partially functional, according to OCHA, the United Nations’ humanitarian affairs agency.
• Israel accused Hamas on Saturday of planning to attack its embassy in Sweden as part of an expansion by the Palestinian Islamist militant group into Europe, where authorities announced the arrests of several suspects last month.

AFP / FRANCE24