Families of Hamas hostages hold ‘day of stoppage’ in Israel
JERUSALEM—A group representing the families of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas has urged Israelis into the streets on Sunday for a “day of stoppage.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum—the main group representing relatives—said it called a one-day strike to “shut down the country” and press leaders to prioritize an agreement over expanded military operations.
The group set the strike’s start for 6:29 a.m., a symbolic minute tied by organizers to the Oct. 7 breach of the Gaza fence.
Detentions
Throughout the day, supporters gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and at dozens of junctions nationwide. Organizers also discussed a protest encampment near the Gaza border.
“Across the country, hundreds of citizen-led initiatives will pause daily life and join the most just and moral struggle: the struggle to bring all 50 hostages home,” it said in an earlier statement.
By midday, Israeli police said they had detained at least 25 people during dispersals at major chokepoints, including a Jerusalem tunnel. Local outlets later cited an updated tally passing 30 as protests continued.
Authorities reopened several arteries after clearing sit-ins, but warned of rolling disruptions.
Starvation
The United Nations meanwhile is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began.
Palestinians are drinking contaminated water as diseases spread, while some Israeli leaders continue to talk openly about the mass relocation of people from Gaza.
Another 11 malnutrition-related deaths occurred in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said on Saturday, with one child was among them. That brings malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 251.
