The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are calling on all members of their government to accept a ceasefire plan laid out by US President Joe Biden, which he said was an Israeli proposal to end the Gaza conflict.
“The Families Forum is launching an emergency operation this evening for a majority in the government and the Knesset for the implementation of the (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu deal to release all the hostages,” the organization said in a statement Saturday.
“The Forum demands the return of all the hostages, some for rehabilitation and others for burial,” it added, referring to a number of hostages who have died but whose bodies remain in Gaza.
Don’t lose this moment,” the statement added.
Families of the hostages will hold a rally in Tel Aviv later Saturday.
Some context: On Friday, Biden laid out the three-phase proposal, which he said Israel had submitted to wind down the crisis. “It’s time for this war to end,” the US president said.
The proposal has been met with openness from Hamas and praise from some world leaders, but Israel’s immediate reaction to Biden’s speech has cast some doubt on the degree to which they approve of the plan as laid out in his comments.
Netanyahu has insisted his goals for the war “have not changed,” and said publicly within an hour of Biden’s speech that the country would not end the war until Hamas is defeated.
