Israeli forces have dropped leaflets within the southern Gaza Strip, asking residents to offer details about the captives taken by Hamas on October 7, as bombardment of the besieged enclave continues.
The leaflets dropped on Saturday, confirmed the pictures of dozens of captives nonetheless in Gaza, along with a message suggesting there could be advantages for anybody offering data to Israel.
“You wish to return house? Please report if you happen to recognized considered one of them,” learn the message, which additionally listed a cellphone quantity and a hyperlink to a web site containing pictures and names of the captives in Arabic.
“They’re asking individuals’s assist as a result of they’re unable to get to their hostages due to the resistance,” mentioned Abu Ali, one north Gaza resident. “Finish the conflict, Netanyahu, and get your individuals again,” he informed the Reuters information company.
Israeli military has dropped leaflets that state they’ve conditioned the pressured displacement of Palestinian residents (conflict crime) on the return of the hostages. So, though their abduction had nothing to do with them Palestinian residents are being collectively punished (conflict crime). https://t.co/PC9eqWToFV
— Naks Bilal (@NaksBilal) January 20, 2024
The captives have been taken throughout Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel by which greater than 1,100 individuals have been killed. Israel has since relentlessly bombarded Gaza, killing greater than 24,900 Palestinians, principally ladies and youngsters.
Greater than 100 of the captives have been freed throughout a short-lived November truce between Israel and Hamas. Israel says 132 stay in Gaza and 27 have died in captivity.
‘Captives matter’
On Saturday within the Israeli capital, dozens of family of the captives rallied exterior the personal residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding he attain a take care of Hamas to make sure their launch.
The protesters plan to spend the night time in tents exterior Netanyahu’s home within the coastal city of Caesarea – some 60km (37 miles) north of Tel Aviv – to protest towards his lack of progress.
“The protesters mentioned that they needed Netanyahu to step out and communicate to them,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem.
“One individual, whose brother is in captivity and whose mom was launched within the last deal, mentioned Netanyahu seemed her within the eyes and mentioned the captives matter. She believes he’s mendacity. She mentioned there was blood on his palms,” she added.
Folks standing exterior Netanyahu’s house held up posters studying, “We wish a deal now”, Khan famous.
On Friday, Israeli conflict cupboard minister and former army chief Gadi Eizenkot mentioned a deal will be needed to make sure captives nonetheless held within the Gaza Strip are launched alive, including {that a} lightning raid could be extraordinarily unlikely to succeed.
Nonetheless, Netanyahu has mentioned he’ll push for “full victory” towards Hamas however has not outlined how he would obtain it.
In the meantime, in Israel’s third-largest metropolis, Haifa, an anti-war protest happened on Saturday with Israeli Jews and Palestinian residents of Israel coming collectively to name for an finish to the combating in Gaza.
“The message right here is to finish the conflict and that [the Israelis] can solely reside peacefully, aspect by aspect, with a political answer for the Palestinians,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the protest, which Israeli officers solely allowed to happen for 2 hours.
No finish in sight
In Gaza, assaults confirmed no signs of stopping because the well being ministry mentioned Israeli assaults killed 165 individuals and wounded 280 others up to now 24 hours.
“There hasn’t been any let-up within the intense bombing throughout the Gaza Strip and it seems prefer it’s all began once more within the north the place extra residential buildings have been focused,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah.
“There seems to be a surge within the depth and scale of the bombings, with the remaining buildings within the neighborhood of al-Shifa Hospital and the western a part of Gaza Metropolis and Jabalia and Beit Lahiya being hit.”
The neighborhood of Nasser hospital within the southern metropolis of Khan Younis additionally got here beneath heavy bombardment, Mahmoud famous. The power is likely one of the few partially functioning hospitals in Gaza.
In additional than 100 days of conflict, Israel’s air, land and sea offensive has devastated a lot of Gaza, displacing many of the 2.3 million inhabitants, many pressured to maneuver repeatedly and search refuge in tents that do little to guard them from the weather and illness, in accordance with the United Nations.
