Netanyahu To Address UN With Families Of Hamas Hostages As Israelis Outrage Over Ceasefire Stalemate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be taking along with him family members of the hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas and held in Gaza Strip.

The families of brothers Yossi and Eli Sharabi (of which Yossi has been confirmed dead, with Eli missing), Idan Shtivi (kidnapped from the Supernova festival), Inbar Haiman (who was murdered after being abducted from the party), Omri Miran (kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz) and kidnapped octogenarian Oded Lifschitz (snatched from Kibbutz Nir Oz) will join the Israeli PM as he will address the annual UN General Assembly session, according to a report by the Times of Israel.

Israel is engaged in fierce cross-border clashes in the country’s north with the Lebanese Hezbollah group, with the situation deteriorating in recent days.

However, he has delayed his departure for the UN General Assembly in New York, his office said Wednesday, as the army pounds Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu will leave for his speech at the UN tomorrow (Thursday), instead of tonight, and will return on Saturday night,” his office said. “During the day, the prime minister will hold consultations to discuss the continuation of the attacks in Lebanon.”

The move by Netanyahu to take along hostages to the UN for his speech comes amid as weekly rallies in Tel Aviv that began with the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, which was triggered by the Palestinian militant outfit’s October 7 attack, have become more critical of the Israeli government since the military announced earlier this month that six dead captives had been recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

Thousands of Israelis again took to the streets of Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv over the weekend to press for a Gaza truce deal that could free dozens of hostages.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused by critics of stalling in truce negotiations and prolonging the war to appease far-right coalition partners, has said Hamas militants “executed” the six hostages by shooting them in the back of the head.

Netanyahu has also blamed Hamas leaders for rejecting terms of a possible truce and hostage release deal, while himself facing calls from Israeli critics to make concessions to secure the return of 97 people still held in Gaza, including 33 the military says are dead.

Actor Lior Ashkenazi told the crowd in Tel Aviv on Saturday that “there will be no redemption” if the government allows the Israeli captives to be “abandoned to murderers and rapists for coalition considerations”.

“No one will agree to live under a broken leadership. Cry out, beloved land, for your leaders abandon you.”

As in past weeks, relatives of captives addressed the crowd.

Eli Elbag, father of hostage Liri Elbag, said addressing his daughter: “It’s been a year since I last kissed you, a year since I last laughed with you.”

“We will continue to fight to bring everyone home,” said the father.

’Beirut, Hezbollah Are Distractions’

Last week’s protest unfolded in the shadow of increasing cross-border attacks between Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.

Shahar Mor, nephew of slain hostage Avraham Munder, said he feared the fight against Hezbollah would again distract leaders from the plight of the hostages.

“Their goal is to focus on the illusion of ‘absolute victory’ that is always just around the corner,” said Mor.

But like during successive phases of intense fighting in Gaza over nearly a year of war, the “corner… always shifts according to specific interests,” he said.

“Yesterday it was Rafah (in southern Gaza), tomorrow it will be Beirut.”

The October 7 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, on the Israeli side, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages that day, scores of whom were released during a one-week truce in November.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,391 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN has acknowledged the figures as reliable.

Hezbollah-Israel Clashes Escalate

Meanwhile, Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Wednesday, with Israel launching more air strikes on Lebanon after its military intercepted the unprecedented launch.

It is the first time Hezbollah has claimed a ballistic missile strike since its nearly year-long battle with Israel began after its Palestinian ally Hamas carried out its October 7 attack.

Israel conducted more air strikes on areas around Lebanon on Wednesday, after raids earlier this week killed at least 558 people in the deadliest day of violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The Lebanese health ministry said Wednesday’s strikes killed 15 people, including in mountain areas outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds.

According to Lebanese officials, hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled their homes in southern and eastern Lebanon to escape the violence between the Iran-backed militants and Israel.

(with inputs from AFP)