Latest news with #EinavZangauker
RNZ News
a day ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu's new Gaza plan, demand release of hostages
By Alexander Cornwell, Reuters Einav Zangauker (right), mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker and Matan's girlfriend and former hostage Ilana Gritsevsky (2nd from left) protest with other families of Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Jack Guez / AFP) Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages. A day earlier, the prime minister's office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages. "This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most," Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to US President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war. Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive. The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday. Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. "They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country," said Rami Dar, a 69-year-old retiree, who travelled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages. Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday's demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organisers. "Frankly, I'm not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success," said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children. "I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference." Around 1200 mostly Israelis were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then. Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Trump to take action to stop Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war. A small number of protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military. Israel's military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said that at least 39 had been killed in the past day. Some of the prime minister's far-right coalition allies have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza. The military has warned this could endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza. Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of continuing the war, issued a statement on Saturday criticising Netanyahu and called for the annexation of large parts of Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory. The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Tal, a 55-year-old high school teacher, told Reuters at the rally in Tel Aviv that expanding the war was "terrible", warning it would result in the deaths of both soldiers and hostages and insisting the war should end with the military withdrawing. "We don't have anything to do there. It's not ours." - Reuters
Politico
a day ago
- Politics
- Politico
Israel faces growing global condemnation over military expansion in Gaza
Mediators Egypt and Qatar are preparing a new ceasefire framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for the war's end and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, two Arab officials have told The Associated Press. 'Shut the country down' Families of hostages were rallying again to pressure the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid new fears over the 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive and struggling. 'The living will be murdered and the fallen will be lost forever' if the offensive goes ahead, said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza. She called on Israelis including the powerful Histadrut labor union to 'help us save the hostages, the soldiers and the state of Israel' and appeared to call for a general strike: 'Shut the country down.' A joint statement by nine countries including Germany, Britain, France and Canada said that they 'strongly reject' Israel's decision for the large-scale military operation, saying it will worsen the 'catastrophic humanitarian situation,' endanger hostages and further risk mass displacement. They said any attempts at annexation or settlement in Gaza violate international law. A separate statement by more than 20 countries including ceasefire mediators Egypt and Qatar along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates called Israel's decision a 'dangerous and unacceptable escalation.' Meanwhile, Russia said Israel's plan will aggravate the 'already extremely dramatic situation' in Gaza. The U.N. Security Council planned an emergency meeting Sunday. And Germany has said it won't authorize any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice. Killed while seeking aid Officials at Nasser and Awda hospitals said that Israeli forces killed at least 11 people seeking aid in southern and central Gaza. Some had been waiting for aid trucks, while others had been approaching aid distribution points. Israel's military denied opening fire and said that it was unaware of the incidents. The military secures routes leading to distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Euronews
a day ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Five foreign ministers condemn Israel's Gaza City takeover plans
Five foreign ministers have issued a joint statement condemning Israel's plans to further escalate the ongoing war in Gaza and take control of Gaza City. Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand said in the statement that the plan, announced by the Israeli Security Cabinet on Friday, "will aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages, and further risk the mass displacement of civilians." "Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law," the statement added. The foreign ministers called for an immediate end to the war, emphasising that a "worst-case scenario of a famine is unfolding". They also called on Hamas to release the remaining hostages it holds "without precondition" and ensure they are "humanely treated and not subject to cruelty and humiliation." Dissent in Israel has also steadily grown as hostages have languished in captivity. Some families of the hostages and their supporters have staged large protests calling for a ceasefire with Hamas that would bring their loved ones home. 'All of Israel wants a comprehensive deal and an end to the war,' Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said in a statement on Friday. 'For the State of Israel to guarantee the security of its citizens, we must end this injustice that has been done to our loved ones for 22 months.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet went forward with the plan against the advice of military leaders, including Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who warned on Thursday that the plan would endanger the lives of the hostages and further stretch the military. The announcement came after Netanyahu also suggested more sweeping plans on Thursday for Israel to take control of all of Gaza. Israel already controls around three-quarters of the territory. Hamas rejected Israel's plans. 'Expanding of aggression against our Palestinian people will not be a walk in the park,' the group said in a statement. Stephanie Tremblay, the associate spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told the press on Friday that "the Secretary General is gravely alarmed by the decision of the Israeli government to take control of Gaza City." The UN Security Council announced an emergency meeting on Israel's plans was rescheduled to Sunday after originally being scheduled to take place on Saturday. International aid drops continue International powers, including Israeli allies France, Britain and Canada, have stepped up criticism of the war amid mounting shock over media reports showing starvation. Germany said Friday it would not authorise the export of military equipment that could be used in Gaza until further notice. Several countries have led coordinated efforts to carry out aid drops over Gaza, a last resort as Israel's blockade and military offensive have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid, contributing to the territory's slide toward famine. A new load of air dropped aid sent by Italy landed in Gaza on Saturday. The UN and aid groups call such drops costly and dangerous for residents, and say they deliver far less aid than trucks. Many food parcels dropped by air have splashed into the Mediterranean Sea or landed in so-called red zones from which Israel's military has ordered people to evacuate. In either case, Palestinians risk their lives to get flour and other basic goods. Palestinians also continue to be killed while seeking aid at four locations run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Witnesses and UN agencies have called the sites "death traps", as hundreds of people have been reported killed while seeking aid, although the GHF continues to maintain that no violence has occurred. GHF said a new UN route runs near two of its sites in the south and has drawn large crowds of people who unload the convoys. But the United Nations, partners, and Palestinians say far too little aid is coming in, with months of supplies piled up outside Gaza waiting for Israeli approval. And although the UN estimates that 500 to 600 trucks of aid are needed daily, the trucks entering are mostly stripped of supplies by desperate people and criminal groups before reaching warehouses for distribution.
3 days ago
- Politics
Netanyahu says Israel intends to take over Gaza as security cabinet meets to discuss move
We intend to, Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News when asked if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory. We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body. He said that Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces that would govern it. Netanyahu made his comments to Fox News before the outcome of a meeting he was due to have on Thursday with a small group of senior ministers to discuss plans for the military to take control of more territory in Gaza. The security cabinet session follows a meeting this week with the head of the military, which Israeli officials have described as tense, saying the military chief had pushed back on expanding the campaign. Opinion polls show that most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would see the release of the remaining hostages. Netanyahu's government has insisted on total victory over the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which ignited the war with its deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. WATCH | Expansion of Israeli operations could be 'catastrophic,' UN official says : The United Nations has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza deeply alarming if true. The idea of Israeli forces pushing into areas they do not already control in the shattered Palestinian enclave has generated alarm in Israel. The mother of one hostage on Thursday urged people to take to the streets to voice their opposition to expanding the campaign. Someone who talks about a comprehensive deal doesn't go and conquer the Strip and put hostages and soldiers in danger, Einav Zangauker wrote on social media platform X in comments directed at Netanyahu. The Hostages Families Forum, which represents captives held in Gaza, urged military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to oppose expanding the war and called on the government to accept a deal that would bring the war to an end and free the remaining hostages. Military to carry out orders until all war objectives met Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives were achieved. Israeli leaders have long insisted that Hamas be disarmed and have no future role in a demilitarized Gaza and that the hostages be freed. There are 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive. Most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen some hostages released collapsed in July. A senior Palestinian official said Hamas had told Arab mediators that an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza would lead to a resumption in ceasefire negotiations. LISTEN | Ex-chief of Israeli security agency calls for end to Israel's campaign in Gaza (new window) Israeli officials accuse Hamas of seizing aid to hand out to its fighters and to sell in Gaza markets to finance its operations, accusations that the militant group denies. Last month, U.S. analysis found no evidence (new window) of widespread Hamas theft of Gaza aid, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the United States give for backing a new armed private aid operation. Videos released last week of two living hostages showed them emaciated and frail, triggering international condemnation. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only parts of the enclave, insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war. Israel says the group has no intention of going through with promises to give up power afterwards. 'I will die in front of this tent camp,' Palestinian says The Israeli military says it controls about 75 per cent of Gaza. Most of Gaza's population of about two million has been displaced multiple times over the past 22 months, and aid groups are warning that the enclave's residents are on the verge of famine. Netanyahu's government is already carrying out a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, 59-year-old Rafiq Al-Masry told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife on Thursday in Gaza City. Expanding the military operation will only increase the number of martyrs ... and the destruction of houses and shelters. Enlarge image (new window) A woman cries at a funeral on Thursday of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes and others killed while seeking aid a day earlier at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Photo: Reuters / Hussam al-Masri What's left for [Israel] to do? Najla Abu Jarad, 60, told CBC News. My plan is to never leave. I will die in front of this tent camp. Death is more honourable than for them to forcibly displace us from one place to the next. Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, nearly half of whom were children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The director general of the World Health Organization said on Thursday that Gaza has seen its highest monthly figure of acute malnutrition in children. In July, nearly 12,000 children under five were identified as having acute malnutrition in Gaza — the highest monthly figure ever recorded, according to WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement, but he also faces internal pressure from within his coalition to continue the war. Some far-right allies in his government have pushed for a full occupation of Gaza and for Israel to re-establish settlements there, two decades after it withdrew. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told reporters on Wednesday that he hoped the government would approve the military taking control over the rest of Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities. Since then, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's assault on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which said 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire across the enclave in the past 24 hours. With files from CBC's Mohamed El Saife
Middle East Eye
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Thousands of Israeli protesters demand deal to release captives, end war on Gaza
More than 60,000 Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv demanding an end to the war on Gaza and a captive exchange deal. Speaking at the rally, Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli captive Matan Zangauker, accused the Israeli government of thwarting the process for a deal. "Israel is setting unrealistic conditions and without real feasibility. We will not return our children if the Israeli government doesn't put a real proposal on the table," Haaretz reported Zangauker saying. "If, instead of putting a comprehensive agreement on the table, the Israeli government decides to expand the military operation, it will issue a death sentence to the living hostages and exhume the dead," she said, adding that "we must force the government into a comprehensive agreement to end the war." A demonstrator speaks on a megaphone during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli captives, outside the Israeli Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on 2 August, 2025. (AFP)
