Israelis Flood Streets in Protest as Gaza Death Toll Rises

Once again, massive crowds of Israelis took to the streets to express their frustration over the government’s inability to negotiate the return of hostages still held in Gaza. Concurrently, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza were reported to have claimed the lives of over a dozen individuals overnight into Saturday.

This wave of protests, among the largest since the war began, erupted a week after the discovery of six deceased hostages in Gaza. The protests gained momentum even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resisted international calls for a ceasefire, stating defiantly, “no one will preach to me.”

Efrat Machikawa, a protester in Tel Aviv and the niece of hostage Gadi Moses, shared, “I think even those who were maybe reluctant to go out, who are not used to protest, who are sad but prefer to be in private space within their sadness, understood our voice must join together to one huge scream: Bring the hostages with a deal. Do not risk their lives.”

Despite mounting international pressure, including from the United States, for a ceasefire, Netanyahu continues to insist on Israeli oversight of the Philadelphi corridor. This strip along Gaza’s border with Egypt is considered a critical point for Hamas’s alleged smuggling of weapons, a claim denied by both Egypt and Hamas.

Amidst the ongoing conflict, Gaza’s health workers have completed the second phase of an urgent polio vaccination campaign aimed at preventing an outbreak. This campaign, the first in 25 years in the region, intends to vaccinate 640,000 children despite the war’s devastation on healthcare facilities.

Meanwhile, Israel persists with its military actions. The Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp reported receiving nine casualties from two separate airstrikes. An additional strike in the nearby Bureij refugee camp killed a woman and her two children.

Further north in Jabaliya, a strike on a school repurposed as a shelter resulted in at least four deaths and numerous injuries. This location, according to the Israeli military, housed a Hamas command post.

The conflict, which commenced on October 7 following attacks by Hamas and other militants, has resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people in Israel, with more than 100 hostages still held, approximately a third presumed deceased.

On the Palestinian side, the Gaza Health Ministry reports over 40,000 fatalities due to Israeli retaliatory strikes, with over 94,000 injuries.

The violence has also escalated in the occupied West Bank, where a military operation in Jenin has resulted in numerous deaths.

The situation worsened when Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American protester, was fatally shot in the West Bank, prompting her family to demand an independent investigation from President Joe Biden, criticizing the adequacy of an Israeli probe.

The Israeli military has acknowledged the need to investigate the incident, which occurred during a demonstration against Israeli settlements, marked by intermittent violence.

The ongoing strife has left over 690 Palestinians dead since October, as per Palestinian health officials, with violence perpetrated by both Palestinian militants and Israeli settlers.

As for the ceasefire negotiations, Hamas accuses Israel of prolonging discussions by introducing new demands. Hamas has proposed ending the war and releasing all hostages in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal and the release of numerous Palestinian prisoners, aligning broadly with a deal outlined by President Biden in July.