After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled his remaining delegation from Qatar after negotiations with Hamas over a hostage deal were stalled, thousands of Israelis took to the streets across the country on Saturday night for anti-government rallies, demanding an end to the war and new elections in Israel. In one of the protests organised at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, a former captive told the crowd that her greatest fear in Hamas captivity wasn't cruelty by Palestinian militants, but Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
Naama Levy, who was one of five Israeli Defence Force (IDF) female soldiers released during a ceasefire-hostage deal in January, said she feared for the lives of the remaining hostages held in Gaza as she urged the Netanyahu government to work for a hostage deal with Hamas.
"First, you hear a whistle, pray it doesn't fall on you, and then - the booms, a noise loud enough to paralyse you. The earth shakes," she told a crowd of around 1500 people gathered outside the Tel Aviv Museum, according to a report by The Times of Israel.
Ms Levy recalled that Israeli strikes in Gaza "came by surprise" and she was convinced "every single time that I was finished."
"It's also what put me in the greatest danger: one of the bombardments collapsed part of the house I was in. The wall I was leaning on didn't collapse, and that's what saved me," she said.
Urging the government to make a deal with Hamas, she said, "That was my reality, and now it's their reality. At this very moment, there are hostages who hear those same whistles and booms, shaking with fear. They have nowhere to run, they can only pray and cling to the wall while feeling a horrible powerlessness."
Highlighting the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Ms Levy recalled that in her first few weeks in Hamas captivity, she was alone with her captors, "constantly on the run" when there were days she would go without food.
"One day, I had nothing left, not even water. Fortunately, it started raining. My captors put a pot outside the house where I was held, and the rain filled it. I drank that rainwater, which was enough for a pot of rice. That's what kept me going," Ms Levy said.
She added that while in Hamas captivity, she didn't believe that the government back home in Israel were aware of the inhuman circumstances in which the hostages were living and still was willing to keep them in Gaza by not making a truce deal with Hamas.
Levy added that in captivity, she didn't believe anyone in Israel could be aware of what the hostages were experiencing and still be willing to keep them in Gaza.
She said that her captors told the hostages they were forgotten by the people back home, but she said she did not believe them, as she would see news of protests in Israel whenever she was allowed to watch television.
"I knew people were fighting for me, because on Saturday nights, when I was allowed to watch television - I saw you, in this square," she said.
Israel on Thursday recalled its entire delegation from Qatar due to the continued impasse in indirect negotiations with Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage deal. Some of the Israeli news outlets quote an unnamed Israeli official saying that Hamas "hasn't responded to the American proposal that Israel accepted, and is sticking to its refusal [to reach a deal]."
"If there is a change and Hamas accepts the offer, the delegation will head immediately to wherever needed."
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that Gaza's health system is at a breaking point as Israel's intensified military operations continue, amidst worsening mass population displacement and acute shortages of basic necessities.
he World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Gaza's health system is at a breaking point as Israel's intensified military operations continue, amidst worsening mass population displacement and acute shortages of basic necessities.
