The Situation Room at the White House will see President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with the US hostage negotiating team on Monday following the tragic murder of six hostages by Hamas on Saturday, including an American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
The main objective of the closed-door meeting is to discuss potential avenues for driving a deal that would secure the release of the remaining hostages. This comes after widespread public frustration and anger erupted in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities following the return of the bodies of the hostages in Gaza.
Israeli media reported that the crowds of protesters reached up to 500,000 people in major Israeli cities on Sunday, with many of them demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do more to bring home the remaining 101 hostages. Reuters also reported that Israel’s leadership estimates that nearly a third of these hostages are dead.
While protests remained strong Sunday, labor leaders called on workers to be part of a one-day strike on Monday in a bid to secure a deal for the release of the remaining hostages. We are getting body bags instead of a deal,” Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David said to reporters Sunday, according to Reuters.
The Histadrut Labor Federation is Israel’s main labor union that represents hundreds of thousands of workers across the country. Bar-David’s call for a one-day strike was supported by manufacturers and tech entrepreneurs in the nation.
Israel’s military announced that the bodies of hostages Carmel Gat, 40, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Alexander Lobanov, 32, Almog Sarusi, 27, and Ori Danino, 25, were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
A polio vaccination campaign had begun in the war-torn Gaza Strip, which sparked violence in the occupied West Bank. The bodies of the six hostages have since been returned to Israel, according to military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
An Israeli health ministry spokesperson said a forensic analysis of the bodies determined that the hostages were “murdered by Hamas terrorists in a number of shots at close range” 48 to 72 hours prior.
Protesters took to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with some blocking roads and holding demonstrations outside Netanyahu’s residence. In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked the main highway while holding flags bearing images of the murdered hostages. Police reportedly arrested about two dozen Israelis nationwide during the protests.
After learning of the news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he was “shocked to the core” by the murders. He also emphasized the importance of securing a deal for the remaining hostages.
The Middle East conflict has been ongoing since Oct. 7 when Hamas launched a series of attacks on Israel, leading to Israel declaring war shortly after. An estimated 257 Israeli hostages were trapped in Gaza when the war began, with 101 still unaccounted for today, six of whom are American citizens.
