Screaming relatives of victims of a Hamas attack disrupted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech during the October 7 commemoration on Sunday.
Netanyahu stood motionless at a lectern during the ceremony in Jerusalem as audience members in the crowd shouted and interrupted him for more than a minute, according to a live broadcast of the speech.
One of the protesters was repeatedly shouting, “My father was killed”.
There has been public and diplomatic pressure on Netanyahu’s administration to do more to broker a compromise to ensure the release of detainees still in Gaza.
#Netanyahu “Shame on yourselves”… Hurtful words from the families of Israeli prisoners of resistance at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his speech on the anniversary of the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. pic.twitter.com/uASeLsk1co
– Jerusalem Captive (@JerusalemCapti) 27 October 2024
Israeli spy chief David Barnia is due to visit Doha on Sunday with the aim of restarting talks on a Gaza hostage release deal.
Several Western leaders, as well as the families of the remaining hostages, have called on the Israeli government to reach a settlement following the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month.
Israeli and US officials as well as some analysts said Sinwar was a significant obstacle to an agreement allowing the release of 97 hostages still held by militants in Gaza, 34 of whom are dead according to the Israeli military.
Critics in Israel have also accused Netanyahu of obstructing the brokering of a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said military action alone would not achieve the country’s war goals, which include bringing hostages home.
“Not all objectives can be achieved through military operations alone… We understand our moral duty to bring our hostages home,” Gallant said in a separate speech marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack. “We will have to make painful concessions.” Which started the ongoing war in the Palestinian Territory on 7 October.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
