Thousands demonstrate in Israel for hostage deal
"The window of opportunity to bring home all 50 hostages - living and dead - is open now, and it won't be for long," one speaker, Eli Sharabi, said at the central rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Sharabi was himself abducted during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and held hostage for 16 months in Gaza.
After his release in early February, he learned that his wife and two young daughters had been murdered during the attacks. The body of Sharabi's brother, Yossi, is still being held in Gaza.
Addressing the Israeli government, Sharabi said: "You were elected to serve this people. With humility, with modesty. It is arrogance that brought disaster upon us - and we must not return to this pattern of behaviour".
According to official Israeli figures, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel and Hamas are currently holding indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha on a 60-day ceasefire, which would also lead to the release of 10 living hostages and the remains of several others.
Sources told dpa on Saturday that the talks had stalled, with the warring parties blaming each other for the lack of progress.
The protesters accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of dragging out the process with critics saying he is trying to secure his own political survival by delaying steps to end the war.
Thousands of people have demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, calling for the government to secure the release of the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
"The window of opportunity to bring home all 50 hostages - living and dead - is open now, and it won't be for long," one speaker, Eli Sharabi, said at the central rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Sharabi was himself abducted during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and held hostage for 16 months in Gaza.
After his release in early February, he learned that his wife and two young daughters had been murdered during the attacks. The body of Sharabi's brother, Yossi, is still being held in Gaza.
Addressing the Israeli government, Sharabi said: "You were elected to serve this people. With humility, with modesty. It is arrogance that brought disaster upon us - and we must not return to this pattern of behaviour".
According to official Israeli figures, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel and Hamas are currently holding indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha on a 60-day ceasefire, which would also lead to the release of 10 living hostages and the remains of several others.
Sources told dpa on Saturday that the talks had stalled, with the warring parties blaming each other for the lack of progress.
The protesters accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of dragging out the process with critics saying he is trying to secure his own political survival by delaying steps to end the war.
Thousands of people have demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, calling for the government to secure the release of the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
"The window of opportunity to bring home all 50 hostages - living and dead - is open now, and it won't be for long," one speaker, Eli Sharabi, said at the central rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Sharabi was himself abducted during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and held hostage for 16 months in Gaza.
After his release in early February, he learned that his wife and two young daughters had been murdered during the attacks. The body of Sharabi's brother, Yossi, is still being held in Gaza.
Addressing the Israeli government, Sharabi said: "You were elected to serve this people. With humility, with modesty. It is arrogance that brought disaster upon us - and we must not return to this pattern of behaviour".
According to official Israeli figures, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel and Hamas are currently holding indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha on a 60-day ceasefire, which would also lead to the release of 10 living hostages and the remains of several others.
Sources told dpa on Saturday that the talks had stalled, with the warring parties blaming each other for the lack of progress.
The protesters accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of dragging out the process with critics saying he is trying to secure his own political survival by delaying steps to end the war.
Thousands of people have demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, calling for the government to secure the release of the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
"The window of opportunity to bring home all 50 hostages - living and dead - is open now, and it won't be for long," one speaker, Eli Sharabi, said at the central rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Sharabi was himself abducted during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and held hostage for 16 months in Gaza.
After his release in early February, he learned that his wife and two young daughters had been murdered during the attacks. The body of Sharabi's brother, Yossi, is still being held in Gaza.
Addressing the Israeli government, Sharabi said: "You were elected to serve this people. With humility, with modesty. It is arrogance that brought disaster upon us - and we must not return to this pattern of behaviour".
According to official Israeli figures, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel and Hamas are currently holding indirect talks in the Qatari capital Doha on a 60-day ceasefire, which would also lead to the release of 10 living hostages and the remains of several others.
Sources told dpa on Saturday that the talks had stalled, with the warring parties blaming each other for the lack of progress.
The protesters accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of dragging out the process with critics saying he is trying to secure his own political survival by delaying steps to end the war.
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And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table." Also, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday for talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as members of Congress. Talks during Kellogg's visit to Kyiv will cover "defence, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protection of our people and enhancing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States", said the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andrii Yermak. "Russia does not want a ceasefire. Peace through strength is President Donald Trump's principle, and we support this approach," Yermak said. Russian troops conducted a combined aerial strike at Shostka, in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine, using glide bombs and drones early Monday morning, killing two people, the regional prosecutor's office said. Four others were injured, including a seven-year-old, it said. Overnight from Sunday to Monday, Russia fired four S-300/400 missiles and 136 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine, the air force said. It said that 61 drones were intercepted and 47 more were either jammed or lost from radars mid-flight. The Russian defence ministry, meanwhile, said its air defences downed 11 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine, as well as over the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea. US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired general Keith Kellogg, has arrived in Kyiv as anticipation grows over a possible shift in the Trump administration's policy on the more than three-year war. Trump last week teased that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday. Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin's unbudging stance on US-led peace efforts. Putin "talks nice and then he bombs everybody", Trump said late on Sunday as he confirmed the US was sending Ukraine badly needed US-made Patriot air defence missiles to help it fend off Russia's intensifying aerial attacks. Russia has spread terror in Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine's air defences are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said on Thursday. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month in 2024, it said. That has happened at the same time as Russia's bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1000km front line. A top ally of Trump, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, said on Sunday that the conflict was nearing an inflection point as Trump showed growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It's a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money. "In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves," Graham said on CBS's Face the Nation. "One of the biggest miscalculations (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table." Also, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday for talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as members of Congress. Talks during Kellogg's visit to Kyiv will cover "defence, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protection of our people and enhancing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States", said the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andrii Yermak. "Russia does not want a ceasefire. Peace through strength is President Donald Trump's principle, and we support this approach," Yermak said. Russian troops conducted a combined aerial strike at Shostka, in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine, using glide bombs and drones early Monday morning, killing two people, the regional prosecutor's office said. Four others were injured, including a seven-year-old, it said. Overnight from Sunday to Monday, Russia fired four S-300/400 missiles and 136 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine, the air force said. It said that 61 drones were intercepted and 47 more were either jammed or lost from radars mid-flight. The Russian defence ministry, meanwhile, said its air defences downed 11 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine, as well as over the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea. US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired general Keith Kellogg, has arrived in Kyiv as anticipation grows over a possible shift in the Trump administration's policy on the more than three-year war. Trump last week teased that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday. Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin's unbudging stance on US-led peace efforts. Putin "talks nice and then he bombs everybody", Trump said late on Sunday as he confirmed the US was sending Ukraine badly needed US-made Patriot air defence missiles to help it fend off Russia's intensifying aerial attacks. Russia has spread terror in Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine's air defences are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said on Thursday. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month in 2024, it said. That has happened at the same time as Russia's bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1000km front line. A top ally of Trump, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, said on Sunday that the conflict was nearing an inflection point as Trump showed growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It's a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money. "In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves," Graham said on CBS's Face the Nation. "One of the biggest miscalculations (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table." Also, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday for talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as members of Congress. Talks during Kellogg's visit to Kyiv will cover "defence, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protection of our people and enhancing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States", said the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andrii Yermak. "Russia does not want a ceasefire. Peace through strength is President Donald Trump's principle, and we support this approach," Yermak said. Russian troops conducted a combined aerial strike at Shostka, in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine, using glide bombs and drones early Monday morning, killing two people, the regional prosecutor's office said. Four others were injured, including a seven-year-old, it said. Overnight from Sunday to Monday, Russia fired four S-300/400 missiles and 136 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine, the air force said. It said that 61 drones were intercepted and 47 more were either jammed or lost from radars mid-flight. The Russian defence ministry, meanwhile, said its air defences downed 11 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine, as well as over the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea. US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired general Keith Kellogg, has arrived in Kyiv as anticipation grows over a possible shift in the Trump administration's policy on the more than three-year war. Trump last week teased that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday. Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin's unbudging stance on US-led peace efforts. Putin "talks nice and then he bombs everybody", Trump said late on Sunday as he confirmed the US was sending Ukraine badly needed US-made Patriot air defence missiles to help it fend off Russia's intensifying aerial attacks. Russia has spread terror in Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine's air defences are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said on Thursday. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month in 2024, it said. That has happened at the same time as Russia's bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1000km front line. A top ally of Trump, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, said on Sunday that the conflict was nearing an inflection point as Trump showed growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It's a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money. "In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves," Graham said on CBS's Face the Nation. "One of the biggest miscalculations (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table." Also, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday for talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as members of Congress. Talks during Kellogg's visit to Kyiv will cover "defence, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protection of our people and enhancing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States", said the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andrii Yermak. "Russia does not want a ceasefire. Peace through strength is President Donald Trump's principle, and we support this approach," Yermak said. Russian troops conducted a combined aerial strike at Shostka, in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine, using glide bombs and drones early Monday morning, killing two people, the regional prosecutor's office said. Four others were injured, including a seven-year-old, it said. Overnight from Sunday to Monday, Russia fired four S-300/400 missiles and 136 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine, the air force said. It said that 61 drones were intercepted and 47 more were either jammed or lost from radars mid-flight. The Russian defence ministry, meanwhile, said its air defences downed 11 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine, as well as over the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.
