March in Tel Aviv in call for release of hostages held by Hamas

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00:00 Attending that rally is France 24's James Andre in Tel Aviv.

00:04 James, what can you tell us about the march so far?

00:07 Well, what I can tell you is that the march is currently

00:13 starting as we speak.

00:15 And it's going to last for five days.

00:17 The objective is to walk from where I'm standing right now,

00:19 which is known now as Hostages Square here in Tel Aviv.

00:23 You can see behind me this long table that's

00:25 been set up with empty chairs representing

00:29 the nearly 2,240 Israeli hostages who

00:32 are held captive by Hamas and other groups

00:35 inside the Gaza Strip.

00:37 And of course, for these families, the objective--

00:39 and this is what they were telling us just earlier on.

00:41 We spoke to the uncle of a young 28-year-old called Eden.

00:45 He was telling us that the point was

00:47 to raise awareness towards the international community,

00:50 of course, but also for the Israeli government

00:53 itself in order to get them to act to try and have

00:56 these hostages released.

00:58 Now, this march is going to last for five days.

01:00 And it will take these people to the residency

01:02 of the prime minister, where they

01:04 are due to arrive on Saturday after an event on Friday

01:07 evening for Shabbat amongst the families.

01:10 So we've got dozens of people who

01:12 are going to walk these roughly 65 kilometers.

01:15 James, what are the families and the support--

01:19 what are they making of the ongoing negotiations

01:22 to secure the hostages' release?

01:25 Well, what we heard, because there was a press conference

01:27 here earlier on, is a lot of frustration.

01:29 It's been 39 days now.

01:30 You've got to imagine how much suffering, of course,

01:33 this represents for all these people who

01:34 are close to those being held captive in the Gaza Strip.

01:38 So of course, they're watching closely.

01:39 And we've had mixed messages here

01:41 when it comes to how things are moving on.

01:44 Indeed, the spokesperson for Hamas, Abu Ubaidah,

01:49 said that indeed, Hamas would, of course,

01:51 consider a five-day truce in exchange

01:54 for the release of 70 civilian hostages, 40 to 70.

01:58 That's saying that indeed, for now, Israel is not

02:02 accepting the terms of that deal.

02:03 Also, we've heard the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,

02:06 saying that negotiations were ongoing.

02:09 Of course, we won't get any details.

02:11 This, of course, is very secret, and the details are not known.

02:14 And it's happening, of course, with the help of Qatar.

02:17 So that is very much the situation.

02:19 But yes, great frustration with Rory, of course.

02:22 And there was today, and this is important to note,

02:24 a minute of silence for Noah Marchiano.

02:27 So she is this young woman that indeed, Hamas said in the communique

02:32 that was killed in an Israeli strike, being held as a hostage.

02:36 Well, the Israeli authorities have confirmed that indeed,

02:39 she is dead.

02:40 And so there was this minute of silence, and of course,

02:42 mourning for the family because of this young woman.

02:47 Of this young Israeli soldier who was killed.

02:51 James Andre, reporting live from that march,

02:53 which is just getting underway in Tel Aviv.

02:56 Thank you so much for joining us.

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