According to Palestinian Sama news agency, the protesters gathered in front of the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of War.
“The sons and daughters of the Israeli captives and the activists demanding the release of these prisoners blocked the Begin road in front of the ministry in the Kirya area of Tel Aviv”, the Zionist Regime’s Channel 12 reported.
The action comes in protest of a campaign, that according to the families of the captives, was aimed at damaging their image and opposing an agreement for the exchange of prisoners.
The protest also took place amid reports that the Zionist authorities are trying to thwart an initiative to exchange prisoners with Hamas.
“High-ranking Israeli officials announced that Hamas has put impossible conditions and the answer is negative” Yediot Aharonot daily published a report.
As part of a week-long humanitarian ceasefire, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, fighting was paused and humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza in December. It also saw an exchange of 240 Palestinian abductees with 105 captives, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners, in Gaza.
Israel believes about 137 prisoners are still being held in Gaza, while there are thought to be 7,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, many detained without charge.
Ceasefire talks intensify
Meanwhile, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed optimism over the talks on the Gaza deal proposed at the Paris meeting last week.
He said negotiations have progressed but declined to reveal the details of talks on the exchange of prisoners.
Al Thani in a joint press conference with the visiting US secretary of States said that Hamas has responded to the peace proposal. “Hamas's response included some objections, but overall their response was positive and encouraging”, he said without specifying further.
“Considering the sensitivity of the negotiation stage, it is not possible to go into the details of the response now”, he said.
Hamas conditions for ceasefire
The Palestinian resistance movement in a statement announced that it has forwarded the response to the proposal on the Gaza ceasefire to the authorities of Qatar and Egypt.
“Hamas has taken a positive and interactive view of this plan; in a way that it includes a complete and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, a complete cessation of the war against the Palestinian nation and the provision of aid, the settlement of refugees, reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the lifting of the blockade and the implementation of the prisoner exchange”, the Hamas statement said.
The statement followed days of consultation by top Hamas officials, including its political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh with other resistance factions on the proposal.
Negotiators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar reached an agreement in Paris last weekend on a framework to stop the war. The meeting was also attended by the heads of the Israeli regime’s spy agencies, Mossad and Shin Bet.
US reactions
Following the announcement of Hamas's response to the ceasefire proposal, the White House spokesman announced that the United States is examining the details.
"We are assessing Hamas' response and there is still a lot to be done to reach an agreement on the captives," White House Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a news briefing on Tuesday.
While calling the negotiations "sensitive", the US spokesman said “we must be careful” and that Washington wants to make sure the captives return home and humanitarian aid reaches the Gaza Strip.
The White House spokeswomen also reacted to the accusations of the Israeli regime against 12 employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA.
"We are waiting for the results of the investigation about the accusations related to UNRWA despite the fact that no one can underestimate the work this organization does”, he said.
Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State is currently in the region on his 5th trip since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October.
Upon Qatar’s revelation about Hamas’ response to the Gaza truce, Blinken stated that an agreement between Israel and Hamas is possible and necessary.
The top US diplomat arrived in Qatar on Tuesday and met with Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani after holding talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh a day earlier.
Blinken has now arrived in occupied Palestine to discuss the ceasefire with the authorities of the Zionist regime. He is scheduled to meet with senior Israeli officials in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
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