Thousands of Israelis rally near Gaza for return of soldiers’ bodies

Israelis rally for return of soldiers’ bodies

Alexander Fullbright writes in Times of Israel, “Thousands of Israelis took part in a rally Friday near the Gaza Strip calling for the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers. Some 4,000 people took pheld by Hamas, while nearby, on the other side of the border, a Palestinian was reported killed when a device he was holding exploded.art in the Israeli event, waving Israeli flags and flying blue kites in a peaceful counter to the flaming airborne devices launched at Israel in recent months from Gaza. Demonstrators called on the government to retrieve the remains of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, whose bodies were captured by the Hamas terror group after they were killed in Gaza during the 2014 war.”

““Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is afraid of terrorism, gives prizes to Hamas and surrenders to its demands time after time,” Tzur Goldin, Hadar’s brother, was quoted by Channel 10 news as saying. He also rejected releasing Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for Shaul and Goldin’s bodies. “We repeat that returning terrorists is not the only way to bring back our soldiers and citizens,” Tzur Goldin said.”…

“Proposals recently reported in Israeli and Arab media have indicated Israel is willing to take a number of steps to ease the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but will not do so without the return of the bodies of Shaul and Goldin. There is a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza as the enclave faces a lack of electricity, potable water and food.” (more…)