As Israelis mourn and protest after hostage killings, Netanyahu pushes back against ceasefire pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday pushed back against a new wave of pressure to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza after hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested and went on strike, and U.S. President Joe Biden said Netanyahu needed to do more after nearly 11 months of fighting.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets late Sunday in grief and anger after six hostages were found dead in Gaza. The families and much of the public blamed Netanyahu, saying they could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza.

Late Monday, several thousand demonstrators gathered outside Netanyahu's home in central Jerusalem, chanting for a deal and carrying coffins draped in the Israeli flag. Scuffles broke out when police snatched away the coffins, and several protesters were arrested.

Thousands more marched outside the headquarters of Netanyahu's Likud party in Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media.

But others support Netanyahu's strategy of maintaining relentless military pressure on Hamas, the militant group behind the Oct. 7 attack into Israel that triggered the war. The general strike was ignored in some areas, reflecting deep political divisions in Israel over a ceasefire deal.

U.K. suspends some weapons exports

Biden made his comments as he arrived at the White House for a meeting with advisers involved in negotiating a deal. Asked if Netanyahu was doing enough, Biden responded, "No."

He insisted that negotiators remain "very close" to a deal, adding, "Hope springs eternal."

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government, meanwhile, said Monday that it's suspending exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the U.K. government had concluded there is a "clear risk" some items could be used to "commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law."

He told lawmakers the decision related to about 30 of 350 existing export licences for equipment "that we assess is for use in the current conflict in Gaza," including parts for military planes, helicopters and drones, along with items used for ground targeting.

He said the decision wasn't "a determination of innocence or guilt" about whether Israel had broken international law and noted it wasn't an arms embargo.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on the social media platform X that he was "deeply disheartened" to learn of what he called the U.K.'s sanctions.

Hamas, Israel trade blame

Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out months of negotiations over a ceasefire by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over two strategic corridors in Gaza. Hamas has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

Netanyahu has refused to commit to an end to the offensive as part of a ceasefire deal and has pledged "total victory" over Hamas, blaming them for the failure of the negotiations.

WATCH | Massive protests Sunday night in Israel after hostage deaths:

Protesters jam streets after 6 Israeli hostages found dead

1 day ago

Duration 4:39

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Israel to protest the government after six hostages were found dead in a tunnel in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. Many accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not doing enough to reach a deal to release the remaining hostages.

When asked about Biden's comments, Netanyahu said pressure should be applied to Hamas, not Israel.

"And now after this we're asked to show seriousness? We're asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says kill more hostages," he told a news conference in Jerusalem.

In response to the Israeli comment, a U.S. official said that while Biden had been clear that Hamas was to blame for the hostage deaths, "he is also calling for urgency from the Israeli government in securing the release of the missing remaining hostages."

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Biden's criticism of Netanyahu was "American recognition that Netanyahu was responsible for undermining efforts to reach a deal."

Control of Philadelphi corridor

Netanyahu also rejected calls to soften his demand to keep troops in the southern Gazan border area as the price for a ceasefire deal.

The issue of the so-called Philadelphi corridor, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, has been a major sticking point in efforts to secure a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and return Israeli hostages.

Hamas has rejected any Israeli presence, while Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not abandon the corridor, where Israeli troops have uncovered dozens of tunnels they say have been used to smuggle weapons and ammunition into Gaza.

WATCH | Israeli hostages 'should have come back alive,' says relative of captives:

Israeli hostages killed in Gaza 'should have come back alive,' relative of other captives says

2 days ago

Duration 5:45

Eylon Keshet, whose relatives are among Israelis still being held hostage in Gaza after they were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, says the discovery of six hostages who were killed in the enclave shows that more pressure needs to be put on Israel's government, Hamas officials and world leaders to secure a ceasefire deal.

Gallant, who has clashed repeatedly with Netanyahu and other ministers, called on the cabinet Sunday to reverse an earlier decision to keep troops in the Philadelphi corridor in order to reach a deal to bring more hostages home.

Khalil al-Hayya, the Hamas official leading the negotiations, told the Qatari network Al Jazeera late Sunday that Netanyahu had deemed keeping the Philadelphi corridor "more important" than winning the hostages' release.

Al-Hayya also said Hamas had offered "great flexibility," including reducing its demand for Palestinian prisoners to be released. He accused Israel of introducing new conditions, including increasing the number of prisoners who would be deported upon release and banning the release of elderly or ill prisoners serving life sentences.

Strike, protests aim to pressure Netanyahu

The general strike, called by Israel's largest trade union, Histadrut, ended early after a labour court said it must cease by 2:30 p.m. local time, accepting a petition from the government calling it politically motivated.

It was the first such strike since the start of the war that aimed to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking and health care.

"This is unbelievable that we have people killed there and our government is doing not what they're supposed to be doing," Gili Baruch, one of the protesters in Tel Aviv, told CBC News.

"I'm here to pay respect, to resist, to shout out and say this is not the way it should be."

Airlines at Israel's main international airport, Ben-Gurion, halted some flights on Monday morning. Histadrut said banks, malls and government offices had joined the strike, as well as some public transit services, although there didn't appear to be major disruptions.

Municipalities in Israel's populated central area, including Tel Aviv, participated in the strike, leading to shortened school hours.

Hundreds of thousands protest over hostage deaths

The demonstrations on Sunday appeared to be the largest since the start of the war, with organizers estimating that up to 500,000 people joined nationwide events and the main rally in Tel Aviv. Israeli media estimated 200,000 to 400,000 took part.

The demonstrators are demanding that Netanyahu reach a deal to return the roughly 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, even if it means leaving a battered Hamas intact and withdrawing from the territory.

Israel said Hamas killed all six hostages shortly before Israeli forces arrived in the tunnel where they were being held.

Three of them, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, a native of Berkeley, Calif., were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire proposal discussed in July. The Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies had determined the hostages were shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.

On Monday, thousands of mourners lined the streets of Jerusalem for Golberg-Polin's funeral.

WATCH | Parents, Israeli president speak at Hersh Goldberg-Polin's funeral:

'We failed you': Parents, Israeli president speak at Hersh Goldberg-Polin's funeral

8 hours ago

Duration 1:51

Thousands of mourners attended a funeral service on Monday for Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose body was retrieved from southern Gaza tunnels along with the bodies of five others seized in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks. Jon Polin said he hoped his son's death would not be in vain and could help prompt the release of the remaining 101 hostages still held in Gaza.

"I feel he was like a symbol of the hostages," Amnon Sadovsky, a 70-year-old teacher, told Reuters. "We need to have humanity for all people — for Jews and for Arabs."

Though some 250 hostages were taken on Oct. 7, Israel now believes about 100 remain in captivity, including 35 thought to be dead. More than 100 hostages were freed during a November ceasefire in exchange for Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners. Eight have been rescued by Israeli forces. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Monday that the group has issued new instructions to guards on how to handle hostages if Israeli forces approach their locations in Gaza.

He said the new instructions, which he didn't detail, were given to those guarding hostages after a rescue operation by Israel in June. At that time, Israeli forces freed four hostages in a deadly raid where Palestinians, including women and children, were also killed.

"Netanyahu's insistence to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal, means they will be returned to their families in shrouds," he said. "Their families must choose whether they want them dead or alive."

According to Israeli tallies, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they stormed into southern Israel last October. Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

The war has displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and plunged the besieged territory into a humanitarian catastrophe, including new fears of a polio outbreak.

Meanwhile, Israel continued its six-day raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Associated Press reporters saw bulldozers tearing up roads. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces were blocking their ambulances from reaching the wounded.

Israel says it has killed 14 militants in Jenin and arrested 25 others. Palestinian health officials say at least 29 people have been killed, including five children.