JERUSALEM, Israel
Dozens of family members of hostages held by Hamas stormed a committee meeting in Israel’s parliament Monday, demanding a deal to win their loved ones’ release, as European foreign ministers joined growing international calls for Israel to negotiate on the creation of a Palestinian state after the war.
The developments showed the
increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has dug
in on both fronts. He has insisted to the Israeli public that pursuing the
devastating offensive in Gaza is the only way to bring the hostages home. At
the same time, he has rejected the United States’ vision for a postwar
resolution, saying he will never allow a Palestinian state.
The dispute over Gaza’s future
pits Israel against its top ally and much of the international community. It
also poses a major obstacle to plans for postwar governance or reconstruction
of the coastal territory, large parts of which have been left unlivable by Israeli bombardment.
As fears grow that Israel’s
war in Gaza will spark a wider regional conflict, the U.S. and British
militaries bombed eight locations in Yemen used by the Houthi
rebels. It’s the eighth time the U.S. has bombed Houthi sites since Jan. 12,
U.S. officials said late Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss
a military operation. The Iranian-backed Houthis have attacked shipping in the
region’s waterways, saying they aim to end the Israeli offensive in the Gaza
Strip.
In southern Gaza, Israeli
strikes and shelling intensified in and around the city of Khan Younis, sending
Palestinian families fleeing south in pickup trucks and donkey carts loaded
with possessions.
In the
city, which has been a battle zone for weeks, people dug graves for the dead
inside the yard of Al-Nasser Hospital as staff struggled to deal with dozens of
newly killed and wounded, including children. Health care workers said strikes
hit at least four schools sheltering displaced people on the city’s western
edges, including two inside a coastal strip that Israel had declared a safe
zone for people fleeing.
Gaza’s internet and phone
networks collapsed again Monday for the 10th time during the war. The repeated
blackouts severely hamper distribution of aid that’s essential for the survival
of the territory’s population of 2.3 million, U.N. officials said. The loss of
service also prevents Palestinians from communicating with each other and the
outside world.
Netanyahu has vowed to
continue the offensive until “complete victory” over Hamas and to return all
remaining hostages after the Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel that triggered
the war. In that attack, some 1,200 people were killed and Hamas and other
militants abducted around 250 people.
Israelis are increasingly
divided on the question of whether it’s possible to do either.
Around 100 hostages were freed
under a weeklong cease-fire deal in November in exchange for the release of
Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Around 130 remain captive, but a number have
since been confirmed dead. Hamas has said it will free more captives only in
exchange for an end to the war and the release of thousands of Palestinian
prisoners.
Netanyahu has ruled out such
an agreement, but anger is rising among hostages’ families. Relatives and other
protesters set up a tent camp outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem,
vowing to remain until a deal is reached.
On Monday, dozens of family
members of the hostages stormed into a gathering of the Knesset’s finance
committee, holding up signs and yelling, “You won’t sit here while they are
dying there!”
“These are our children!” they
shouted. Some had to be physically restrained, and at least one person was
escorted out.
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