Israel-Gaza war: Thousands take part in solidarity strike with hostages as fighting continues

Tens of thousands of Israelis observed a 100-minute strike on Sunday in solidarity with the 136 hostages still in Hamas captivity, on day 100 of the war in Gaza. More than 100,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv for a “100 Days of Hell rally”, organised by relatives and friends of the hostages, demanding the government reach a deal to bring them all home.

The war, the most traumatic event in Israel’s 75-year history, began at dawn on Saturday, October 7th on the Jewish holiday of Simhat Torah, with a massive rocket barrage from Gaza, as thousands of heavily armed gunmen stormed across the border. The militants entered army bases and 22 towns and kibbutz farming communities along the border, killing indiscriminately, accompanied by numerous acts of rape and sadistic atrocities.

More than 360 people attending an all-night music festival close to the border were among those killed and 240 people were seized and taken to Gaza.

October 7th marked an intelligence failure on a colossal scale and the response of the military was also woefully inadequate, with many communities left to fend for themselves for hours before soldiers arrived.

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The Israeli response was brutal and is ongoing, leaving much of Gaza a wasteland, as Israeli leaders vow to pursue the war until Hamas is destroyed and all the hostages are released.

Hagar Brodetz, a former hostage who was released after 51 days in captivity, said time is running out.

“We were exposed to harsh sights of seriously wounded hostages, whose limbs had been amputated in captivity, and they are not treated. Their hourglass is running out.”

Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday said: “One hundred days ago, the Hamas monsters invaded Israel and massacred us. They raped and burned our citizens and took them hostage. We have returned half of them. We are not giving up on anyone. We are doing everything to bring them all back home.”

“One of the things that has become clear beyond all doubt is that we must conduct this war, and it will yet take many months.”

The Hamas-controlled health ministry reports that almost 24,000 people have already been killed in the war and more than 60,000 wounded. The 100 days of war have also caused serious food shortages among Gaza residents, most of whom have been displaced.

“Whenever you go to a school, the kids are looking at your eyes begging for a sip of water or a loaf of bread,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the Unrwa refugee agency. “This 100 days feels like an eternity.”

Tension on Israel’s northern border rose on Sunday after a woman and her son were killed when two anti-tank missiles fired by Hizbullah from south Lebanon hit their home in a border community. Israeli jets pounded Hizbullah targets in south Lebanon up to 35km from the border following the attack.

On Saturday night, four gunmen belonging to a small Palestinian militia were killed after crossing the border from south Lebanon into northern Israel. Israel has threatened military action to remove the Hizbullah threat from the border if no diplomatic solution is reached. However, Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah remains defiant, vowing the fighting on the Lebanon front will continue until there is a Gaza ceasefire.

“They are asking us to stop fighting to prevent Israel from starting a war with Lebanon,” he said in a speech on Sunday. “These have been idle threats for a hundred days and they will never affect us,” he said.

“Our front is putting pressure on the displaced people in northern Israel who complain to the authorities.”

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