ISTANBUL
The Israeli captives' families declared on Saturday that they would not allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “derail the agreement with Hamas or turn Gaza’s tunnels into graves” for the Israeli hostages.
In a statement, they called for demonstrations in front of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv.
“In the place where Netanyahu threatens to launch a new war, violating agreements and sacrificing the hostages, we will continue to send a clear message tonight: We will not allow you to turn Gaza's tunnels into graves for our children,” they stated.
The families stressed the "demand for the return of the hostages all at once.”
Israel estimates that 59 hostages are still held in Gaza, with at least 22 of them alive.
On Friday, a statement from the office of the US presidential envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the National Security Council, published by the White House, stated that "President (Donald) Trump has made it clear that Hamas will either release hostages immediately, or pay a severe price."
On Wednesday evening in Doha, Qatar, Witkoff and National Security Council Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa Eric Trager presented a "bridge" proposal which would "allow time to negotiate a framework for a permanent ceasefire," it said.
On Thursday, Hamas announced the resumption of negotiations with mediators in Doha regarding a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian group on Friday said it approved the mediators proposal to resume negotiations.
In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed his response to Hamas' acceptance of the mediators' proposal and attempted to shift the blame back onto the movement, claiming that it "continues to engage in manipulation and psychological warfare."
The initial 42-day phase of a three-phase ceasefire deal ended in early March, but Israel has resisted advancing to phase two, favoring extensions to secure additional releases of captives without meeting military or humanitarian obligations.
Hamas insists on enforcing the full agreement and pressed mediators to immediately launch talks for phase two of the deal.
The ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, which took hold in January, has halted Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 48,500 victims, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.