22 January, Jerusalem (Reuters) - On Monday, a group of Israelis' family members who had been kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen in Gaza disrupted a parliamentary committee meeting in Jerusalem and demanded that the MPs take further action to attempt to liberate their loved ones.

The demonstration by perhaps twenty persons in the fourth month of the Gaza conflict against Hamas indicated a growing discontent at home.
A woman displayed photos of three family members who were among the 253 individuals apprehended during the cross-border Hamas attack on October 7, which led to the bloodiest combat in many years.

About 130 individuals remain in detention after several were freed in November as part of a truce.
"Just one I'd like to get back alive, one out of three!" shouted the female protestor as she hurried into the Knesset Finance Committee hearing.
There were a number of protestors holding signs that read, "You will not sit here while they die there."

"Release them now, now, now!" they exclaimed.
Though it seems that this would not appease Israel's ambition to destroy Hamas and Hamas's insistence that Israel evacuate and free thousands of Palestinians, including senior militants, from its prisons, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt are trying to arrange another release.

The nation is captivated by the hostages' plight; Israel claims that 27 of them have perished in Gaza. However, family members worry that war fatigue would blur that focus. Once-promoters of national togetherness, demonstrations have turned increasingly confrontational.

Families and supporters have also begun setting up camp outside the Knesset building and the beachfront mansion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Until the hostages return, we won't abandon him," stated Eli Stivi, whose son Idan is being held captive in Gaza.

Calls for an election to overthrow the hard-right administration have blended with weekend demonstrations demanding the release of the captives. Recent anti-government demonstrations gained strength over the protracted Gaza war, following a hiatus following the October Hamas attack. As support for Netanyahu declines, thousands demonstrated on Saturday in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv; some of them momentarily blocked a roadway. Parliamentary ushers in the Knesset eventually stood by throughout the disturbance, despite their early attempt to obstruct protesting families in the Finance Committee.

The head of the panel, Moshe Gafni, of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish party, halted an economic briefing to address a protester. He emphasized the significance of rescuing hostages in Judaism but discouraged leaving the coalition. Netanyahu rejected the demands of the hostage families, telling them that Hamas had not made a convincing offer to end the conflict. The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum is holding a vigil outside Netanyahu's home, calling for a swap arrangement and pressing the prime minister to be transparent about his views.