Israelis protest for 2nd day to demand completion of Gaza prisoner exchange deal

For the second consecutive day, Israeli protesters gathered outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on Sunday to demand the government continue a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.

According to Maariv newspaper, hundreds of protestors and relatives of Israeli captives in Gaza camped overnight in Tel Aviv to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to sabotage the swap deal.

Protesters demanded that an Israeli negotiating delegation traveling to Doha on Monday be granted full authority to finalize an agreement ensuring the return of all captives at once.

Sunday's protest came after thousands of demonstrators surrounded the ministry headquarters on Saturday to demand the completion of the ceasefire deal.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli captive Matan, called for continued public pressure on the government to complete the agreement.

Families of Israeli captives and activists plan to demonstrate daily around the Defense Ministry and stage a sit-in overnight to pile more pressure on the Netanyahu government to complete the agreement.

The ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place since January, pausing Israel's genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 48,400 victims, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

So far, 25 Israeli hostages and five Thai workers have been released under the first phase of the agreement in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.