Middle East and Africa | An agonising wait

Netanyahu’s handling of the hostage crisis enrages Israelis

The anguished families of Israeli captives are becoming a political force

Demonstrators carry posters during a demonstration calling for the release of Israeli hostages
Image: AFP
|JERUSALEM

FOR NINE months the presidential residence in Jerusalem had been the site of angry and noisy rallies as every Saturday night Israelis protested against their government’s plans to clip the powers of the Supreme Court. Yet on October 22nd the hundreds who gathered there stood for hours in a largely silent vigil as President Isaac Herzog met relatives of the 220 Israelis confirmed to have been taken hostage in Gaza. Most of those abducted in an attack by Hamas on October 7th are civilians. Among them are babies and the elderly. As the families came out after the meeting, there were muted cries from the crowd of “bring them home now!”

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