Thousands of Israelis were expected to attend rallies throughout the country Saturday night in support of a Gaza hostage deal, and some of them explicitly against the government, as ongoing negotiations in Doha drew optimism from some US officials that captives could be released before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.

The urgency of efforts to secure a release was underscored by the recovery of two hostages’ bodies from Gaza this week, though the two are thought to have been killed in captivity around a year ago, in circumstances that are not yet clear.

Announcing its central weekly rally in Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostages Square outside the Tel Aviv Museum, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said father and son Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne “were kidnapped alive and could have been saved by an early deal.”

“We must not miss the historic opportunity [to reach a deal now],” the Forum said, urging the government “to do now what is necessary and possible — reaching a comprehensive deal and bringing back all the hostages.”

Appended to the press release was a picture of the number 100 replaced by 98, referring to the number of hostages still held in Gaza — many of them no longer alive — after the recovery of the Ziyadnes’ bodies.

In tandem with the Tel Aviv rally, the Forum will hold smaller rallies in several locations including Jerusalem, Kiryat Gat and the Shaar HaNegev Junction in the south.

The Hostages Square rally is set to feature speeches from Nisan Calderon, brother of hostage Ofer Calderon; Nira Sarusi, mother of slain hostage Almog Sarusi; Yael Adar, mother of........

© The Times of Israel