Families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas to the Gaza Strip held a 24-hour rally to draw attention to Sunday’s somber event, 100 days since their loved ones were abducted.
The event – which begins in Tel Aviv’s Ransom Square at 1pm on Saturday, New York time – will open with a video message from French President Emmanuel Macron, the Times of Israel reported.
Meanwhile, families whose loved ones were still held hostage walked through a fake Hamas tunnel built in Tel Aviv, meant to show the cramped and dark conditions their relatives had to endure in Gaza, the outlet said.
Families wrote the names of an estimated 132 people believed to be still being held by terrorists, as well as messages of hope for their return on the walls of the tunnel.
“I’m shivering. For almost 100 days [the hostages] can’t leave this,” Ela Ben Ami – whose parents were both taken on October 7 – told Channel 12 after she walked through the tunnel for the first time.
A relative carries a portrait of Israeli hostage Itay Chen in a simulated tunnel inaugurated during a rally in Tel Aviv. AFP via Getty Images
Ela’s mother, Raz, was released during a temporary ceasefire in November, but her father, Ohed, remained in Gaza.
“I know that I am [father] injured. He has vertigo but I don’t know now what medicine he needs,” added the daughter.
Her mother, Ela explained, remained tight-lipped about her time in captivity.
Demonstrators in New York City hold up pictures of the remaining Israeli hostages. Roy Rochlin/Shutterstock
“I don’t know if he went through this. He didn’t tell me. But now I know why he can’t sleep at night, he’s in such a bad state,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military effort against Hamas continues — while tensions rise with Hezbollah on the northern Israel-Lebanon border.
On Saturday, the IDF announced that it struck three terrorist cells in southern Lebanon on Friday night, the Times of Israel reported.
The CIA has a new task force dedicated to gathering intelligence on Hamas. AFP via Getty Images
The three cells were preparing to carry out attacks on northern Israel, the IDF said.
On Friday, Israeli forces also killed three Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on soldiers in the West Bank, officials said.
The gunmen attacked soldiers who were patrolling the Israeli settlement in Adora, Israel Military Radio explained.
A picture, illuminated by a light bulb, is displayed in a tunnel prepared to simulate the living conditions of hostages. Reuters
A Palestinian man survived the confrontation with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Tensions in the occupied West Bank have been running high since Hamas launched its offensive on Israel, and the Israeli army has regularly carried out deadly raids it claims have crushed the insurgency in the area.
Israeli forces have killed 344 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, the Hamas-linked Palestinian Ministry of Health has claimed.
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Relatives of Israeli hostages from the Bibas family stand near the simulated tunnel. AFP via Getty Images
In the wake of the October 7 attacks, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a new task force to gather intelligence on Hamas leaders and Israeli hostages – and share that information with Israel, the New York Times reported.
The new task force was the result of a directive from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the report claimed.
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence has also upgraded Hamas on its priority list from the lowly level four to the more urgent level two, the Times explained.
It is unclear how effective the task force is.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
