[IsraelTimes] In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, relatives of captives urge Trump to pressure Netanyahu to maintain ceasefire after current 6-week first stage, bash Smotrich for opposing accord
Weekly protests for the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza were held Saturday evening in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with activists and relatives of captives hailing the week-old ceasefire that has so far seen the release of seven female hostages, and urging the government to keep the ceasefire going through its second phase in order to guarantee the return of all the hostages.
The protests came after Hamas on Saturday morning released four female IDF soldiers who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and held in Gaza for 477 days: Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag. Six days earlier, under the nascent accord, Hamas freed three female civilian hostages: Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari and Romi Gonen.
Saturday night’s rallies were the first weekly protests since the ceasefire and the releases began.
Before the rallies, hostages’ families made a statement to the press, congratulating the four soldiers released earlier in the day and calling on US President Donald Trump to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from halting the ceasefire and hostage release deal before its completion.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a 42-day first phase that will see the release of 33 “humanitarian” hostages — female, underage, elderly, sick and injured abductees — in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including convicted murderers. The sides agreed to begin negotiations on a second stage two weeks into the truce.
A second and third phase, if implemented, would see Israel withdraw entirely from the Strip, a permanent ceasefire and the return of all hostages, but would also likely cause the collapse of Netanyahu’s coalition. The premier’s far-right coalition partner Itamar Ben Gvir has already bolted the government over the deal, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to follow suit if Israel doesn’t resume fighting after the first phase.
Hardline ministers have often cited the sacrifice of soldiers killed in the Gaza war, saying ending the war before Hamas is utterly defeated would besmirch their memory and mean they had died in vain.
Smotrich has also been highlighting the danger of future deaths caused by the thousands of Palestinian terrorists and security prisoners Israel is releasing in exchange for the hostages as part of the deal. Critics of the deal point out that Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, was one of the Palestinian prisoners released in the last such deal, when Israel freed 1,027 prisoners in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.
Lots of quotes at the link from the organizers and speakers at many of the apparently small protests, should you be interested, dear Reader. 
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