Israel: Relatives of hostages demand ceasefire deal, lament deaths in captivity

Israel

Families of hostages and their supporters protested outside Israel’s defence ministry in Tel Aviv on Tuesday (Aug. 20) demanding a ceasefire deal that would return their loved ones home.

The protest came as the military said it had recovered the bodies of six people captured during Hamas’ 7 October attack on southern Israel.

"The longer they're there, the more body bags we get. We want to bring our hostages home alive as soon as possible. And this is why we're here every day between 7 and 9pm," said protester Adi Israeli.

There have been reports in Israel’s media that the hostages died during an Israeli military operation in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.

"All six were taken alive from their houses in Nir Oz and Nirim and should have been back alive and there is no relief in their return as bodies, " said Naama Weinberg, cousin of hostage Itay Svirsky.

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, called out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not acting more quickly in talks.

He said the recovery of the bodies showed that a ceasefire deal was needed now before all the remaining hostages die.

Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 people captured during its 7 October attack on southern Israel.

The recovery of the six bodies came as the United States, Egypt, and Qatar were trying to mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.