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30K Israelis join families of hostages in Jerusalem rally as reports swirl about a release deal
(JTA) — Tens of thousands of Israelis joined the families of many of the roughly 240 people held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7 in a silent protest outside the offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday night.
Later on Saturday, the Washington Post reported a deal for the release of about 50 of the hostages, including the estimated 40 children abducted by the terror group. But both Israeli and U.S. official batted down the report, saying that no deal yet had been reached.
The rally was the culmination of a five-day protest march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that aimed to call attention to what the families said was inadequate focus on their loved ones’ plight amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Six weeks into the war, and three weeks into a ground invasion, just a handful of hostages have been freed while at least three others have died, leaving the vast majority unaccounted for in a battered Gaza Strip.
Spurred by a group called the Hostage and Missing Families Forum that formed within days of Hamas’ attack, the hostages have become a cause célèbre the world over. In addition to the “Kidnapped” posters that are ubiquitous in many cities, supporters have mounted installations of Shabbat tables, shoes and strollers; “adopted” hostages in their synagogues and schools; and recruited celebrities to call attention to their plight. On Saturday, a boat parade in the canals of Amsterdam amplified the slogan “Bring them home.”
Today, dozens of boats sailed through Amsterdam’s canals to show support for Israel and call for the immediate release of 240+ people cruelly held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
— European Jewish Congress (@eurojewcong) November 18, 2023
Yet the families have been frustrated at home, where Netanyahu has met only once with a small number of them and where the military’s top goal of dismantling Hamas could put their loved ones at risk inside Gaza. Many have expressed anger at Netanyahu and his government.
“We have a message for the war cabinet — it cannot be that you make a decision without sitting with us and looking us in the eye. Look us in the eye!” Naor Pakciarz, who is representing the families of the hostages from Kibbutz Be’eri, where dozens of people are believed to have been taken, told Times of Israel.
In recent days, the deaths in captivity of three hostages have been announced: a 19-year-old soldier named Noa Marciano, a 65-year-old woman named Yehudit Weiss; and a 22-year-old Tanzanian student named Clemence Matanga. (The families’ march detoured to Marciano’s home in Modiin on Thursday.) No information has been released about the circumstances of their deaths.
Netanyahu and other leaders of his emergency government addressed the hostages at a press conference Saturday night. There was no deal to release them, he said, but reaching a deal that would keep families together was a shared priority within his government. Benny Gantz, a longtime rival of Netanyahu who agreed to work alongside him during the war, took a slightly different stance, according to local reports, saying that gaining the release of the hostages was a more pressing goal than defeating Hamas.
Shortly afterwards came the Washington Post report, which said the United States had brokered a deal for the release of 50 hostages in batches over several days in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting, increased humanitarian aid and the release of some Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons.
The United States said the report was premature. “We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get to a deal,” tweeted the White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”