Relatives of Hostages Bloc Road to Netanyahu’s Office

CrossFireArabia
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October 8, 2024

Israeli protesters blocked the road, Tuesday, that leads to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in West Jerusalem and demanded a hostage swap deal with Hamas.

The Walla news website said protesters placed ballot boxes on the road to demand early elections and advocated for a hostage swap.

Hundreds of Israelis protested and planned strikes after Israeli forces discovered the bodies of six captives in a tunnel in #Rafah, southern #Gaza Strip.

In occupied al-Quds, protesters camped outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday, reflecting the growing… pic.twitter.com/bbdmzkcHk8
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 1, 2024

The site confirmed that police forcibly cleared protesters and detained seven.

Rabbis from the far-right Religious Zionism party earlier urged Netanyahu to explore all options to secure the return of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, even if it requires negotiations.

The demand followed a warning from Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, who said he does not rule out the possibility of Israeli captives in Gaza entering a “dark tunnel,” indicating the complexities of the situation and the uncertainty regarding their future.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 101 hostages in Gaza out of at least 239 Israelis who were taken captive Oct. 7, 2023, after a surprise attack by Hamas.

Some were exchanged with Tel Aviv during a temporary cease-fire last November, while the Palestinian resistance group has reported the deaths of dozens more because of indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

Indirect negotiations between Tel Aviv and Hamas, mediated by Egypt and Qatar with support from the US, have reached a critical stage because of Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war in Gaza.

He remains committed to holding strategic positions in the Philadelphia and Netzarim areas in southern and central Gaza, while Hamas demands a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the unhindered return of displaced individuals.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following the Hamas attack, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 42,000 victims have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 97,600 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israel Fears Hamas Ambushes in Gaza

CrossFireArabia
April 28, 2025

The Palestinian resistance has begun to translate into reality the warnings issued by the Israeli occupation army, a few days ago, of the possible escalation of operations against its forces inside the Gaza Strip, according to military expert Major-General Fayez al-Duwairi.

Al-Duwairi explained on Al Jazeera the military operations in al-Tuffah area, east of Gaza City, the “Breaking the Sword” ambush east of Beit Hanoun, followed by another ambush in the same location falls within the context of these warnings.

He said the resistance is still able to survive because of the method of battle it is waging and adapting to the movements of the Israeli army. He noted the resistance forces “are not operationally offensive, but rather tactically offensive…”

Al-Duwairi’s statement comes after the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, announced, Sunday, it detonated an anti-personnel bomb targeting a number of Israeli soldiers, confirming they were killed and wounded east of the al-Tuffah neighborhood.

As the Qassam Brigades announced the targeting of an Israeli Merkava 4 tank with an Al-Yassin 105 missile east of Tuffah, the Al-Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad targeted a military barracks and a number of Israeli soldiers in a house with a guided missile.

The military expert emphasized the resistance factions maintain a high level of preparedness, “albeit varying from one battalion to another,” in his comment on the intensification of operations against the Israeli army.

According to Al-Duwairi, the new Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir came up with exaggerated expectations and an approximation of “zero losses,” based on the deployment of forces in the buffer zone and then a cautious and gradual advance under intense fire.

But, the resistance began targeting Israeli forces and vehicles with ambushes and anti-personnel and anti-tank missiles as the Israeli army began to deepen its incursion into built-up areas and their rubble.

A few days ago, the Israeli Walla news website quoted military sources as saying the Israeli army reinforced its defenses at its military positions in the area.

According to these sources, the army warns of a possible escalation of Hamas operations against its forces, as the movement’s militants are expected to launch guerrilla-style operations.

The Israeli army estimates, according to Walla, that Hamas is likely to launch targeted sniper attacks, ambushes, and other complex operations.

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