Immediately after Hamas announced its approval of a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli demonstrators and families of the hostages held by Hamas mobilized to demand an immediate deal. Opposition circles called for serious consideration of the proposal.
Demonstrators cut off Begin Street in Tel Aviv to demand a rapid exchange deal with Hamas to stop the gunfire and return the hostages. The mother of one hostage remarked, "Now is the time for the government to bring the hostages home, or we will set the country on fire." In addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Einav Zanjoker, the mother of hostage Matan Zanjoker, told Israeli Channel 12, "This is your time. Be brave, be a leader. The government and the war cabinet must accept the agreement. Each of our hostages must return home."
She continued, "If our government and our Prime Minister miss this opportunity – perhaps my last chance to see Matan return home and for other families to see their loved ones return – I will bring out all Israelis. The streets will burn, and the country will burn... We cannot play this way with people's lives."
In parallel, the Forum of Families of Israeli Hostages stated, "We welcome Hamas' announcement and call on the government to turn this statement into a complete agreement with the movement."
### Lapid: "The Deal or Shame"
For his part, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked the government and called for building on recent developments and moving to Cairo to secure the return of the kidnapped individuals. He wrote on the platform "X": "The government that wants to bring back the hostages is now holding an urgent discussion and sending teams to Cairo, and not issuing hysterically three different briefings from different parties and crushing the hearts of the families. It is a national disgrace."
Every week, thousands of Israeli demonstrators take to the streets, calling for new elections and urging the government to take further action to bring back the hostages held in Gaza.
### Hamas Approves the Ceasefire
Hamas announced on Monday its approval of the Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to a statement from the movement. In Israel's first response to Hamas' announcement, Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that Hamas' response to the ceasefire proposal is being considered "seriously," amid a storm of skepticism from political officials.
