In Israel, thousands of protesters took to the streets after the army discovered the bodies of six hostages over the weekend.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Israel on Sunday night, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call a ceasefire with the militant group Hamas, according to the Associated Press. The protests came hours after the Israeli military said it had recovered the bodies of six hostages, including one Israeli-American.
According to the Associated Press, many protesters were heard chanting “Now! Now!”, calling for a ceasefire.
The Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies showed the hostages were shot at close range on Thursday or Friday, according to the Associated Press. Three of the six hostages confirmed dead were likely due to be released as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal negotiated in July, the AP reported.
According to the Associated Press, thousands of people gathered outside Prime Minister Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, while in Tel Aviv, relatives of the hostages marched with coffins to count the dead. CNN Israeli police announced they had arrested 29 people during mass protests in Tel Aviv, it was reported on Sunday.
Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to eliminate Hamas since the militant group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 23, leaving 1,100 people dead and taking about 250 hostages to Gaza.
The United States and regional partners are working to reach a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel but have yet to reach a concrete agreement. Netanyahu said in a statement on the hostage deaths that Hamas has rejected the proposal.
“In recent days, Israel has made every effort to reach an agreement and has been conducting intensive negotiations with mediators, but Hamas continues to categorically reject all proposals. To make matters worse, at exactly the same time, Hamas has killed six of our hostages,” he said.
“Whoever kills the hostages does not want an agreement,” he added.
Israel's largest trade union, the Histadrut, also called for a general strike on Monday to demand a ceasefire as protesters took to the streets following the hostage deaths.
The Associated Press contributed.
