JERUSALEM: Dozens of former hostages and relatives of those killed during Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel announced Wednesday they were opposed to a government-planned ceremony marking its one-year anniversary.
In an open letter addressed to right-wing Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who is organizing the ceremony, the signatories pleaded for the government to bring back remaining hostages before holding such an event.
They also rejected “any use of photos of our loved ones, dead or alive, of details concerning them or the mention of their names” during the ceremony.
Israeli media have estimated that the ceremony will cost more than one million US dollars.
Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
The Palestinian militants also abducted 251 people, 103 of whom are still captive in Gaza including 33 the military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 40,534 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
The location of the planned ceremony is a major point of contention, with kibbutzim decimated by Hamas militants refusing to host it.
Regev has announced it would take place in Ofakim, where more than 40 police officers, soldiers and civilians were killed on October 7.
The mayor of the town is a member of Likud, the right-wing party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an attempt to defuse tensions related to the ceremony, Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered to host it at his residence, but Regev has rejected this proposal, dismissing the controversy as “background noise.”
Several popular singers, including some considered to be right-wing, have refused to sing at the ceremony.
And families of those killed have announced an alternative ceremony in a Tel Aviv park, drawing support from artists and other public figures spanning the political spectrum.
Comedian and journalist Hanoch Daum has issued a call on Facebook for the organizers of the official ceremony to time it so it does not conflict with the alternative ceremony.
“Tens of thousands of people will be able to sit, remember and cry together... without politicians, to dialogue between Israelis from the right and the left,” he said.
Ex-hostages criticize Israel’s plan for Hamas attack commemoration
https://arab.news/guhsq
Ex-hostages criticize Israel’s plan for Hamas attack commemoration
- Israeli media have estimated that the ceremony will cost more than one million US dollars
- Families of those killed have announced an alternative ceremony in a Tel Aviv park, drawing support from artists and other public figures
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
