Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz on Saturday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and fellow opposition heads Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman to form a temporary government excluding the far right, with the goal of securing the release of hostages held in Gaza.
Benny Gantz © Mena Today
Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz on Saturday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and fellow opposition heads Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman to form a temporary government excluding the far right, with the goal of securing the release of hostages held in Gaza.
The hostages were abducted during Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack, which killed over 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. About 50 hostages, dead or alive, are still believed to be in captivity.
Netanyahu lost his parliamentary majority in July after ultra-Orthodox parties quit his coalition over conscription disputes, leaving him dependent on far-right allies opposed to any deal with Hamas. Gantz argued that only a new centrist coalition could break the deadlock, calling for a “government of prisoner redemption.”
Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv the same evening, demanding the hostages’ release and an end to the war. Critics accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the conflict and sacrificing the captives to appease far-right partners.
Hamas has accepted a proposal for a 60-day truce and phased hostage release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has ordered “immediate negotiations” but has not endorsed the mediators’ plan.
While pressing for a deal to bring the hostages home, Gantz, a former military chief, insisted the war against Hamas must continue until the group is dismantled.
Countries are still working on a U.N. Security Council mandate for an international stabilisation force in Gaza, and will decide on any troop deployments once a framework is complete, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.
Avishay Edri wants to move back to the kibbutz he evacuated in southern Israel after it was attacked by Palestinian gunmen two years ago, but is hesitating as fears persist that the war in nearby Gaza will resume and it will not be safe.
Inflation in Turkey eased in October, falling to 32.9% year-on-year from 33.3% in September, reaching its lowest level since November 2021, according to official data released on Monday.
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