‘We want our life back’: Tel Aviv protesters celebrate potential ceasefire with Hamas

Tel Aviv – With a hand-shaped ball in hand, Gili Coheb-Taguri, a 49-year-old material scientist with a Trump mask and a suit corresponding to the president’s clothing tastes, posed for the range of cameras and smartphones.

“It is? It is a mask of origami, ”she said to an interrogative passer-by. “And yes, I did it myself.”

Coheb-Taguri was one of the thousands of people who came out on Saturday evening at the hostage Square, the Tel Aviv Court which has become the site of weekly demonstrations demanding that the Israeli government be ensured the return of hostages kidnapped by Hamas after October 7, 2023.

The rally, the first to be held after Hamas accepted President Trump’s cease-fire proposal on Friday, was only one of the similar events in Israel. Although the atmosphere was dark, it nevertheless seemed more optimistic than most of the other events that Coheb-Taguri had attended in the past two years.

“The reason for which I carried this costume is to thank Trump for what he did. People were so depressed and when they see Trump here, they smile,” she said through the mask before removing it.

“The key point for us is the hostages,” she said. “It’s been two years and we want them to come back. We want our life to come back. “

The 20 -point American plan, which was written by the Trump administration with the contribution of Israel and a number of Arab and Muslim nations, would see the Palestinian militant group release the 48 hostages which he still has under his custody and handing over the reins of Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic technocratic committee led by Trump.

Israel, in turn, will return 1,700 detainees from Gaza and 250 prisoners serving perpetuity in Israeli prisons. He will also enter a gradual withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and will not occupy nor annex the enclave. No Gaza resident will be forced to leave, and those who want to come back are encouraged to do so.

Like many in the crowd here on Saturday evening, Coheb-Taguri and her husband, Yossi Taguri, 52, credited Trump for doing what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not do: the broker made an agreement that would bring the hostages back.

“We are not our government. Bibi’s interest and our interests are not aligned,” said Taguri, using Netanyahu’s nickname.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of having extended the war and succumbing to the demands of extremist ministers in the coalition of his government in order to stay in power.

Taguri expected Netanyahu to find a way to sabotage the agreement once again.

“How many times have we been in this situation, where everyone agrees, then something happens?” He said. “He will find a way to explode.”

In a video statement published on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said that he hoped to announce the return of all hostages “in the coming days” and that the Israeli army would maintain “control of all dominant areas deep in the band” during the first phase of the agreement.

He insisted that his burnt earth strategy in Gaza – who killed more than 67,000 people, the health authorities in the enclave, and left Gaza a lunar landscape of the rubble – caused the position of Hamas.

Hamas had accepted a number of previous proposals to end the war, including a cease-fire that settled in January, but which Israel unilaterally broke out in March.

Netanyahu said he hoped that negotiations to finalize the agreement would soon be completed. After the transfer of hostages, he said: “Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized.”

“This will happen either by the diplomatic path by the Trump plan or by the military path-of our hands,” he added.

Hamas said that it would only disarm in the context of the delivery of its weapons to a Palestinian state. He did not directly deal with stipulation to disarm in Trump’s proposal.

In an article on his social media site on Saturday, Trump said: “Hamas must move quickly, otherwise all bets will be disabled” and “would not tolerate the delay”.

He also thanked Israel for what he said to be a temporary stop of his bombing campaign to give the agreement a chance. Israel has not stopped bombing: the Palestinian health authorities said that at least 67 people had been killed in Israeli attacks since dawn on Saturday. The Israeli media reported that the soldiers had been informed of defensive operations.

During the rally, thousands of people participated in songs of appeal and response that they have memorized in the last two years of the war.

“Bring them back!” Cried Omer Shem Tov, a hostage released in a previous exchange of prisoners with Hamas. The crowd responded with a strong “now!”

Another speaker, actor Lior Ashkénaze, started by thanking Trump.

Standing among the crowd, Dor Jaliff, a 35 -year -old social worker, hosted Trump’s mention. Although he was not counted by a Trump supporter (“I’m not going to run with an American flag or things like that,” he said), he said he nevertheless appreciated the impact of the American president.

“I hope that our government considers hostages to be the top priority like Trump. Look, I’m not happy that Trump gets involved in Israel’s affairs, but at least someone is doing the job,” he said.

As for whether the agreement would be concluded, he said he was trying to stay full of hope.

“It’s a need to be optimistic. I want to feel optimistic,” he said.

Mindy Rabinowitz, 57 years old. On his chest, he had a sticker with the number 729 – the number of days since the start of the war.

At the head of a college, Rabinowitz had made it a ritual to come instead hostage at least once a month, but often more than that. However, before the announcement of the ceasefire on Friday, he was not sure that he would come this week. But when he learned that Hamas accepted the agreement late Friday evening on Friday evening, he thought differently.

“I turned to my wife and said,” Maybe we shouldn’t stay at home and watch this on television. We should go, “he said.

“Maybe this is the last time we will be on this square.”