(NewsNation) — Demonstrators in Tel Aviv are clashing with police Wednesday on the third day of protests as hundreds take to Israel’s streets calling for a cease-fire deal in the war with Hamas.
Israelis have been putting pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to a deal that would secure the return of remaining hostages in Gaza taken during the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his team are working around the clock on negotiations for a cease-fire proposal that could be coming soon, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. That proposal could include the release of remaining Israeli hostages, immediate aid for Gaza and a stoppage of fighting, Kirby said.
Further details are still developing. The State Department said the United States will work closely with mediators in Egypt and Qatar to push for a final deal between the Israeli government and Hamas.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently charged Hamas’ leader as well as other militants in connection with the Oct. 7 attack. The charges serve as one way to target military operations, while additional actions could be coming further down the road, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The presence of the Israeli military once a proposal is in place remains a focal point of the ongoing negotiations. Netanyahu has been clear he wants Israel to control the Philadelphi corridor between Israel and Gaza because he believes it could stop Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza.
Benny Gantz, a former general and chief of staff who had been part of Netanyahu’s War Cabinet until he quit in June, said Iran, not the so-called Philadelphi corridor, was Israel’s main existential threat. While the corridor was important to prevent Hamas and other Palestinian militants from smuggling weapons into Gaza, soldiers would be “sitting ducks” and wouldn’t stop the construction of and movement through tunnels, Gantz said.
The tension between Israel and Palestine far predates the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis and claimed 250 hostages. Six hostages were confirmed dead earlier this week, igniting the ongoing protests and cease-fire calls throughout Israel.
Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, and driven most of the enclave’s 2.3 million people from their homes, according to Reuters.
About 9,500 Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank were in Israeli captivity as of April. Those estimates are based on figures from Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a rights group that supports Palestinian prisoners.
Reuters contributed to this report.
