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Thousands Join Israeli Hostage Families in March on Jerusalem
Families and supporters of hostages kidnapped in the deadly October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas, take part in the four day march from Reim to Jerusalem to call for the release of hostages, as they enter in Jerusalem, March 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
A march by thousands of Israelis demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza reached Jerusalem on Saturday as negotiators prepared to resume ceasefire negotiations in Cairo that would include a swap deal with Hamas.
A column of protesters, led by families of hostages seized by Palestinian terrorists during Hamas’ deadly rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7, walked up the winding highway to Jerusalem, arriving at the city at sundown.
Holding up Israeli flags, yellow balloons and posters of the hostages, they concluded a four-day march that began at one of sites hit by the October attack, and were expected to be joined by more protesters at a rally outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence.
“We’re here marching in support of the families of those who are kidnapped, wishing that they will be released soon and that they will be safe. We’re praying for them in every step that we take,” said Danny Cuperman, one of the marchers.
Gaza truce talks are expected to resume in the Egyptian capital on Sunday. U.S. President Joe Biden has said he hopes a ceasefire will be in place by the time of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on March 10.
Dozens of hostages could be freed if a deal is reached.
“This is the only humane thing that can happen,” said Yair Mozes, whose 79-year-old father Gadi was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. “They must be (coming) home. That’s it.”
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been mediating truce negotiations since January. The last deal led to a week-long pause in fighting in November, during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages, mostly women, teens and children, and Israel freed about three times as many Palestinian female and teen prisoners.
Almost five months into the war in Gaza, 134 hostages are still being held incommunicado in the coastal enclave, according to Israeli authorities. Among them are soldiers and civilians, men and women, a child and his baby brother.
Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted 253 in their Oct. 7 attack, Israel said. Israel responded with a military assault on Gaza to destroy Hamas and rescue the hostages.
Israelis have been protesting nearly every week under different banners, though in numbers far smaller than the mass demonstrations that gripped the country in 2023. Some demand the government quit over the Oct. 7 security failure while others focus on the release of hostages and aid to Gaza.
The post Thousands Join Israeli Hostage Families in March on Jerusalem first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.