Hostage families evacuated from outside Prime Minister’s Office – Israel News

Israel Police officers evacuated hostage family members and protesters from outside of the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Protesters arrived before the security cabinet convened to discuss Hamas’s latest threat that it would stop hostage releases until further notice.

The protesters were holding demonstrations near the Knesset building to demand a continuation of the hostage deal. Earlier, protesters also blocked Highway 1 on the way to the Israeli capital alongside activists demanding the resumption of the deal. The highway has since opened to traffic.

Demonstrators have demanded that the Israeli government send a delegation to Doha with a full mandate to negotiate the deal’s second phase ahead of the security cabinet meeting later, which will discuss a response to Hamas’ indefinite postponement of releasing hostages.

“This is a demand to the prime minister to stop sabotaging the agreement,” the families said in an official statement. “Netanyahu brought us a long agreement that dragged on for months. Today, it is clear that he is motivated by political considerations and is doing everything to sabotage the agreement. From the latest testimonies, our loved ones are going through a Holocaust in captivity. They will not survive there much longer.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that “US President Donald Trump has sharply and clearly stated the only possible ethical and humane goal – everyone must get out, and immediately. The president understands that if they don’t get everyone out of this hell immediately.

“The signs of life that have recently been received make one thing very clear: there’s no time left for the hostages, no other opportunities to get them out. The photos of the released hostages last Saturday proved in a clear, painful, and unequivocal way that the window of time is getting shorter, and all parties involved in the matter must do everything possible so that everyone can return for rehabilitation or a proper burial.”

Demonstration comes after Hamas announced halt of releasing hostages

Hamas announced on its Telegram account on Monday that it is canceling the release of hostages on February 15 until further notice due to what they claim are “Israeli violations” of the agreement.

The night before the Highway 1 protest, demonstrators gathered to chant and light bonfires outside Tel Aviv’s Kirya military headquarters following Hamas’s announcement.

The protest on the highway was held as Kibbutz Kissufim announced the death of Shlomo Mansour, the oldest of the hostages still held in captivity.

Maya Cohen contributed to this report.