60,000 on New York street, chanting ‘Free Them Now’
Over 60,000 people, including Hamas captivity survivors and families of hostages, marched together during the annual Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
The families and their thousands of supporters wore shirts inscribed with “Bring them home now!” and held signs reading “YES to Netanyahu’s deal!”
In one of the parade’s most poignant moments, participants unfurled a giant banner bearing the message: “FREE THEM NOW!”
It is to mentioned that only yesterday Israel’s war cabinet had accepted a framework deal, advanced by US President Joe Biden to wind down the war.
In an interview with UK’s Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, said Biden’s proposal was “a deal we agreed to”, adding that though it’s not a good deal, but Israel dearly wanted the prisoners released, all of them.
Mediators including the US, Qatar and Egypt on Saturday said they “call on both Hamas and Israel to finalise the agreement embodying the principles outlined by President Joe Biden”.
Hamas has provisionally welcomed the Biden initiative.
“Biden’s speech included positive ideas, but we want this to materialise within the framework of a comprehensive agreement that meets our demands,” senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera on Saturday.
