TEL AVIV, Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu has asked for "forgiveness" from Israelis for failing to return six hostages found dead in Gaza on Saturday, as Hamas warned more could be "returned to their families in shrouds" if a ceasefire isn't reached.
His comments came as intense
street protests over his handling of negotiations entered a second night in
Israel.
Pressure also mounted
internationally as the UK suspended some arms sales to Israel, citing a risk of
equipment being used to violate international law.
But Israel's prime minister
struck a defiant tone, insisting its troops must control Gaza's Philadelphi
Corridor - a strategically important strip of land which is a sticking point in
negotiations with Hamas.
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Monday in fresh protests called by hostages' families to express their anger at Mr Netanyahu's failure to bring home their loved ones after almost 11 months.
The Times of Israel reported
that police were using considerable aggression at one protest outside the prime
minister’s home in Jerusalem, including violently pushing protesters, throwing
some to the ground, and dragging many away.
One member of the police
squeezed the throat of a Times of Israel reporter, according to the newspaper.
The latest demonstrations come
after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protests across
the country on Sunday, with some demonstrators blocking a major highway in Tel
Aviv. Many wore Israeli flags and hung yellow ribbons - a symbol of solidarity
with the hostages - from a bridge overlooking the Ayalon Highway.
A total of 97 hostages remain
unaccounted for after being kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October last year.
Hamas said on Monday that
hostages would be returned "inside coffins" if military pressure from
Israel continues and added that "new instructions" have been given to
militants guarding captives if they are approached by Israeli troops.
"Netanyahu's insistence
to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal means
they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families must choose
whether they want them dead or alive," a spokesperson for the group said,
without elaborating on what new orders had been issued.
Earlier on Monday, Israel's
biggest trade union said hundreds of thousands of people had joined a general
strike called to put pressure on the government to agree a Gaza ceasefire and
hostage release deal with Hamas.
Despite this, Tel Aviv's Ben
Gurion airport reported limited disruption and many restaurants and hospitality
services operated as normal. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
boasted that Israelis had gone to work “in droves” and proved that they were no
longer slaves to “political needs”.
Elsewhere, US President Joe
Biden said Mr Netanyahu was not
doing enough to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire with Hamas, amid
reports suggesting a new proposal would be sent to the Israeli prime minister
as "final".
Many accuse Mr Netanyahu of
blocking a deal to prioritise his own political survival - a claim he rejects.
Mr Netanyahu's far-right
allies have threatened to pull out of the coalition government, undermining his
chances of staying in power, if he were to accept a deal tied to a permanent
ceasefire before Hamas was destroyed.
US, Egyptian and Qatari
mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release
the 97 hostages still being held, including 33 who are presumed dead, in
exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
UK Foreign Secretary David
Lammy said on Monday that the UK had suspended
30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel, citing a "clear
risk" the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of
international law.
The affected equipment
includes parts for fighter jets, helicopters and drones.
Mr Lammy said the UK continued
to support Israel's right to defend itself, and this did not amount to an arms
embargo.
Israel's Defence Minister Yoav
Gallant posted on X, to say he was "deeply disheartened" by the move,
while Foreign Minister Israel Katz said it sent a "very problematic
message" to Hamas and Iran.
Meanwhile, funeral services
for some of the hostages killed on Saturday have been held.
The mother of Hersh
Goldberg-Polin - one of the hostages whose body was recovered by Israel on
Saturday - spoke at his funeral and said she had been in "such torment and
worry" about him for months.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin said it
had been a "stunning honour" to be her son’s mother. Around the time
of his kidnap, Hersh sent two texts to his family, writing: "I love you
guys,” and "I’m sorry".
Mourners lined the streets in
Jerusalem and Israel's President Isaac Herzog spoke to relatives at the
funeral.
The Israeli military launched
a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the unprecedented attack on
southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and
251 others were taken hostage.
More than 40,000 people have
been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health
ministry.
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