After Lebanon ceasefire, hostage families block PM Netanyahu's office, demand similar deal to free hostages in Gaza

A group of family members of hostages still held by Hamas barricaded themselves in front of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, demanding that he agree to a ceasefire deal in Gaza to secure the return of their loved ones.

“We are barricading ourselves in front of the bureau to make it clear that we cannot leave our loved ones in Gaza,” said Sharon Sharabi. Two of his brothers were kidnapped by terrorists during the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre last year, with one being murdered and the other still being held by Hamas.

Many protesters argued that the ceasefire in Lebanon, which Israel agreed to despite Hezbollah not having been dismantled, demonstrated that a similar agreement could be possible in Gaza.

Sharabi argued that the protesters wanted “[to clarify] that a cease-fire agreement was made while real danger still hangs over the residents of the north and the citizens of Israel, and while Hezbollah still has capabilities that the IDF has not yet taken away, and [despite this] we understand that it is possible to leave Lebanon and it is possible to return to Lebanon [later].”

“In the same breath, in a symmetrical way, we can leave Gaza and return to Gaza when we need to, but first of all, our hostages must be at home for that,” Sharabi emphasized.

משפחות חטופים מתבצרות במדרגות הכנסת אחרי שהזיזו אותן מהכניסה ללשכת רה"מ

מלמעלה צופים עליהם חכ סוכות והיועץ המורשע של השר לבטחון לאומי גופשטיין pic.twitter.com/bnDoeNu4ne

— Noa Shpigel (@NoaShpigel) November 27, 2024

The group of protesters were later removed from the premises by the Knesset security team, before descending one floor and blocking the stairway for some time.

“Netanyahu, just as you brought a quick agreement in Lebanon, bring a deal for the return of the hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum demanded.

“The families demand that the Israeli government and the Prime Minister come up with an agreement to return all the hostages at once and to end the war, while understanding that similarly to the agreement in the north – when necessary, the IDF will be able to return to fighting in Gaza.”

In central Jerusalem, another demonstration also called for the release of the hostages, emphasizing that a year has passed since the first hostage release deal and that the hostages won’t survive another winter in captivity.

Meanwhile, a small group of hostage families represented by the “Life Forum” opposed the decision made by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to award an honorary doctorate to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the occasion of its centennial year.

The group accused Herzog of not doing enough to secure a hostage deal. “The president's silence is a lasting wound and an insult to his position,” the group stated in a letter, according to Israel Hayom.

“The question is whether the university, in whose community there are hostages and abductees, family members as well as murdered hostages, will itself take a moral and educational position that denounces the neglect and stands against it.”

Within the university staff, there was strong opposition to awarding Herzog, with critics arguing he hasn’t taken a firm stance against the judicial reform and has shown a lack of support for the hostages and their families.

However, last Sunday, the Israeli president strongly urged the government to agree to a deal, warning that not taking action to release the 101 remaining hostages in Gaza is a “daily failure.”

“We must understand and internalize that if we do not bring them home, we will be left with a bleeding, open wound that will forever burn our souls as a society and as a nation,” Herzog said.