Summary
- Einav Zangauker called Israel's Security Cabinet a "cabinet of death."
- Protest held Saturday at Begin Gate, Tel Aviv.
- She demands safe release of hostages in Gaza.
- Warns PM Netanyahu's hands will be stained if hostages are harmed.
- Leads protest movement pushing for a comprehensive hostage deal.
This occurs more than a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's preparations for an IDF takeover of Gaza City were authorized by the security cabinet.
"This move has no public support! Most people want to end the war and bring everyone home. The only thing Netanyahu needs to do is put forward a comprehensive agreement to end the war, one that is real and feasible,"
Zangauker added.
"But Netanyahu has already decided to kill them and condemn us to an eternal war.”
"The State of Israel is not its government,"
she added, and called on the public to shut down the country and the economy.
This occurs more than a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's preparations for an IDF takeover of Gaza City were authorized by the security cabinet.
Witkoff is set to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani on Saturday to discuss a proposed agreement to end the war that includes the release of the 50 remaining hostages, Axios reported earlier.
“I call from here to the people of Israel - for the sake of our heroic soldiers, for the sake of the hostages who are enduring a Holocaust and barely surviving - come out of your homes to stop the country!"
he continued.
"Let’s take back the State of Israel, let’s save it from the cabinet of death and the death-eaters who run it."
At the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir disputed any deal that would result in a temporary occupation of the Gaza Strip.
According to N12, hostage coordinator Gal Hirsch told senior IDF officials that he had asked for the objective of freeing the hostages to be included in the IDF's mission, and National Missions Minister (RZP) Orit Strock allegedly screamed at him during a conference break.
"What the hell, that's not the mission - the mission is to eliminate Hamas,"
she reportedly told him.
Strock said that the effort to return the captives is why soldiers are killed. Hirsch responded, according to the report.
"Our soldiers fight to save civilians and return hostages. It's always been that way. I did it myself. That's how we are."
Why does Einav Zangauker label Israel's Security Cabinet as "a cabinet of death"?
Einav Zangauker labels Israel's Security Cabinet as "a cabinet of death" because she strongly opposes their decision to expand military operations into Gaza City. She warned that if hostages are killed during the occupation of parts of Gaza, the officials responsible will be held accountable, saying,
"Your hands will be stained with the blood of the hostages!"
Her condemnation reflects her anger and fear that the Security Cabinet's plans will endanger hostage lives and lead to more deaths. Zangauker, a mother of a kidnapped Israeli hostage and a leader of the protest movement, made this statement during a demonstration in Tel Aviv, expressing deep frustration with the government's policies amid the ongoing conflict.
The atmosphere at these protests is highly charged, with Zangauker and other families expressing frustration and rage over what they view as the government's failure to protect their loved ones amid ongoing military actions.