A previous protest by the families of detainees in front of the US Embassy in Israel (Getty)
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said - today, Saturday - that about 600 families of 81 Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip sent a letter to US President Joe Biden in which they expressed their frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who they said was not doing enough to release their families.
The families of the detainees called on Biden and his administration to intervene to help and direct Netanyahu towards what they called the “correct course of action” that would ultimately lead to the return of their families to their homes, according to the newspaper.
The families of the detainees stated in the letter that they are communicating with the American administration, because they feel increasingly frustrated and concerned about the lack of continued commitment by the Israeli Prime Minister and the War Council regarding the release of detainees in Gaza.
In the letter also addressed to US Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the families of the detainees expressed their readiness to cooperate closely with Washington to “mobilize the Israelis and express to the American people and their elected officials the necessity of supporting the agreement that is currently being discussed.” To formulate a prisoner exchange deal.
The families of the detainees also called on Biden to use available means to put pressure and persuade all parties, including the Prime Minister of Israel, to agree to the deal that the United States believes is reasonable.
This comes as negotiations continue in Doha to conclude a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, with Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation, and after reports of progress in the negotiations.
The families of the detainees staged a sit-in several times in front of Netanyahu's house and in the main streets of Tel Aviv to demand the completion of a prisoner exchange deal, after accusations against the Israeli Prime Minister of neglecting the detainees' file and prolonging the war to protect his political future.
A truce was previously held between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel for a week from November 24 to December 1, 2023, during which a ceasefire took place, prisoners were exchanged, and limited humanitarian aid was brought into Gaza.
Source: Israeli press