Relatives of Israeli hostages storm parliament, demand action on captives

On Monday, dozens of family members of the hostages stormed into a Finance Committee meeting in Israel's Parliament, yelling: “You won’t sit here while they are dying there!”

Families of the hostages, as well as other protesters, have set up a tent camp outside Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem and vowed to remain until a deal is reached to bring the rest of the hostages home. Other protests have called for new elections.

Hamas has said it will only free more captives in exchange for an end to the war and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has ruled out such an agreement and says military pressure is key to securing the release of more hostages.

The long-serving prime minister, whose popularity has plummeted since Oct. 7, faces pressure from the U.S. — Israel's top ally — to shift to more precise military operations, do more to facilitate humanitarian aid and embrace postwar plans with broad support across the region.

But Netanyahu's governing coalition is beholden to far-right parties that want to step up the offensive, encourage the “voluntary” emigration of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza, and re-establish Jewish settlements there.