By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The group said they’ve requested a meeting with Netanyahu and all members of the security cabinet after many months of no communication.

Families of Israelis being held captive in Gaza have sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting an urgent meeting to be briefed on the latest developments on a proposed deal with the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas.

“The Forum demands an urgent meeting between representatives of the hostages’ families and the Prime Minister, to be held as early as tomorrow (Wednesday),” a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum read, according to The Times of Israel.

They demand ”to advance the proposed deal expected to secure the return” of all the captives, the statement added.

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The group said in the letter that about a week and a half ago, they had contacted the Israeli PM and all members of the security cabinet to request a meeting after many months of no communication, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing the Israel Hayom newspaper.

Reportedly believed to be holding about 130 captives in Gaza, Hamas is demanding an end to Israel’s offensive on the besieged enclave as one of the conditions for any deal.

A deal last November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

Blinken Meets Families

Earlier on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the families of American-Israelis held captive in Gaza.

I met with President @Isaac_Herzog in Tel Aviv to discuss our support for Israel’s security and efforts to reach a ceasefire that secures the release of hostages. We also discussed the urgent need to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza. pic.twitter.com/8JF2m5yRUc

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 1, 2024

Blinken vowed that “we will not rest until everyone – man, woman, soldier, civilian, young, old – is back home.”

He also met with Netanyahu as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv to discuss “our support for Israel’s security and efforts to reach a ceasefire,” according to a post on X.

Hamas Assessing Deal

Hamas is currently reviewing key aspects of a proposal for a possible ceasefire.

Blinken on Monday urged Hamas to accept an “extraordinarily generous” proposal.

Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif Al-Qanou’ said on Monday the demands of the Resistance are “not insurmountable” but “legitimate demands understood by mediators and supported by our people and agreed upon nationally and factionally.”

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“Without fulfilling the just demands of our people for a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal of forces, and the return of displaced persons, no agreement with the occupation will succeed,” Al-Qanou’ emphasized.

Over 34,500 Killed

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,568 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,765 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

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Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

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The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(PC, Anadolu)