Former hostages rally for Gaza war to end as Israel mulls updated plan

Waving Israeli flags and holding portraits of hostages still held by Palestinian militants in Gaza, the protesters gathered outside Netanyahu's office under the slogan "We will bring them back" and called for an end to the war.

Sharon Cunio, whose husband David is still held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, and Arbel Yehud were among the former hostages who attended the rally.

Yehud's partner Ariel -- David Cunio's brother -- is also still in captivity, one of 49 hostages in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

In Jerusalem, Cunio and Yehud held a banner with photos of their partners that read: "Bring back our loved ones."

Nearby, the Israeli cabinet met to discuss the ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

"The only way to bring the hostages home is to halt the war and end the suffering of the hostages and all those living through this terrible conflict -- including Gaza residents, soldiers, families, and all of us," protester Sharon Kangasa-Cohen, a historian, told AFP.

"If they retake Gaza or decide to reoccupy it militarily, the hostages' lives will be in even greater danger, and Israeli society as a whole will be threatened," she said.

Pepe Alalu, a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem and a well-known figure of the city's left wing, said he came to the protest because "I simply couldn't stay away."

"We have to save the hostages," he said, adding that in his view, "Israel has lost its moral compass."