In Israel’s coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, thousands of people protested again on Thursday evening for the release of hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip.

The demonstrators also called on the umbrella organization of the trade unions, Histadrut, to declare a general strike. This should continue until all hostages are released, the organizers from the Hostages’ Forum demanded.

According to the media, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau said at the rally that it was Israel’s duty to bring the hostages home.

The current indirect negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement over the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza war have yet to achieve a breakthrough.

Relatives accuse the Israeli government of having no serious interest in securing the release of the hostages.

Until a few weeks ago, Israel had assumed that just under 100 of the 130 remaining hostages were still alive. However, it is now feared that significantly more of them may be dead.

Hamas militants and other extremists abducted more than 200 people to the Gaza Strip during the devastating attacks in the Israeli border area on October 7 last year.