Channel 12 reported that tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in "Kidnapped Persons Square" in central Tel Aviv, demanding an immediate deal that would include the release of all prisoners in Gaza.
The demonstration was attended by families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, including prisoner Eviatar David, who appeared in the latest video released by the Qassam Brigades on Saturday, looking extremely emaciated and showing the effects of the growing famine in the Strip. The sister of Israeli prisoner David delivered a speech, emphasizing his need for urgent medical care.
On Saturday morning, another demonstration took place in Tel Aviv, attended by hundreds of Israelis, demanding a deal to return all prisoners held in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz, the demonstration called for by the Prisoners' Families Authority came "in the wake of videos published by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in recent days, showing prisoners Avitar David and Rom Barslavsky in a difficult psychological and physical state."
Speaking from inside a Palestinian resistance tunnel, Israeli prisoner David said, "I want to say to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: I feel that I and the other prisoners here have been completely abandoned."
"What I'm doing now is digging my own grave. My body is getting weaker with each passing day, and as for me, I'm on my way to death," he continued, noting that "this is the grave in which I will probably be buried," referring to the tunnel he appeared in during the clip.
He addressed the Israeli public, saying, "Only you can stop this, so I can go back to sleep in my bed with my family at home."
On July 6, Hamas and Israel began indirect negotiations in Doha to discuss a prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement, mediated by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the United States. However, Tel Aviv and its ally, Washington, announced a few days ago that they were withdrawing their national teams from the consultations.
Hamas has repeatedly declared its willingness to release Israeli prisoners "in one batch" in exchange for an end to the war of extermination, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
But Netanyahu, who is wanted by international justice, is evading the situation by proposing new conditions, including the disarmament of Palestinian factions, and is currently insisting on reoccupying Gaza.
Since the genocide began on October 7, 2023, Israel has been simultaneously committing a starvation crime against the Palestinians of Gaza. On March 2, it tightened its blockade by closing all crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing famine to spread and reaching "catastrophic" levels.
The genocide, with American support, left more than 209,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
