Israel strikes Gaza, families of hostages slam Netanyahu for 'sacrificing' their loved ones
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it had received no response to its request to meet with Netanyahu
Relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza said Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to return to fighting in the Palestinian territory could "sacrifice" their loved ones after the military carried out a wave of air strikes.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it had received no response to its request to meet with Netanyahu and other officials to hear how the remaining hostages would be "protected from the military pressure".
"Now it becomes clear -- the public officials did not meet with them because they were planning the explosion of the ceasefire, which could sacrifice their family members," the campaign group said.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
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The overnight air strikes were by far the deadliest since the January ceasefire, which had largely halted the fighting and saw the handover of 33 hostages, both living and dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said at least 413 people were killed in the latest attacks.
The forum called on supporters of the hostages to demonstrate outside Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, warning that "military pressure could further endanger their lives and complicate efforts to bring them back safe and sound".
"The families of the hostages will demand: Stop the killing and disappearance of the hostages now! First, return them -- then everything else."
A few dozen people turned out for the protest, where relatives of hostages who were already confirmed dead warned that "continued fighting would lead to more hostage deaths".
They "urged an immediate ceasefire and return to negotiations to secure the release" of all those still in Gaza.
The return of the hostages is a priority for the majority of Israelis.
"This morning, the moment we realised that we were going back to war, the first thing I thought about was: what about the hostages? This is a death sentence for the hostages, and it's simply terrible," said Muriel Aranov, a 62-year-old pensioner living in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu on Tuesday took part in a security assessment with defence officials in Tel Aviv, including Defence Minister Israel Katz, his office said.
An earlier statement from Netanyahu's office said the strikes were ordered after "Hamas's repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators".
"We are at an impasse, we have said 'yes' more than once to concrete proposals from the US special envoy to extend the ceasefire, and Hamas has said 'no'," foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in a briefing.
"From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increased military intensity," he added.
