00:00We can now speak to DW correspondent Tanya Kramer, who's standing by for us in Tel Aviv at those demonstrations.
00:07Tanya, protests have been going on every weekend for many months now in Israel.
00:13How is this one different?
00:18Well, tonight, once again, after this cabinet decision, I think there's really a mix of emotions.
00:24What I've heard from people here talking, too, and you still see people coming here, filling hostage square tonight.
00:33You know, there's a lot of anger, frustration at this decision, but also anxiety, especially from the relatives and the families of those hostages,
00:44the living hostages and the deceased hostages that remain in Gaza.
00:48They really feared that this new plan to occupy Gaza City and to intensify the war even further will harm their loved ones even further.
01:02And this was also an argument that we heard from the military leadership.
01:05There was this clash between the military leadership and the government, at least what was reported here.
01:11But still, the government decided to go ahead.
01:15And what the families here called on tonight is also for the public, for Israelis to come together
01:23and to come together for a general strike in the coming days here in the country,
01:28because they have lost faith in the government to actually go for a deal that would see the release of those hostages.
01:36Tanya, is it just the hostage families who are opposed to these plans to take over Gaza City?
01:47The Prime Minister insists the plan is not to take over the entire Gaza Strip.
01:52But how much opposition is there in Israel more broadly?
01:56I'm not sure I understood your question right now because it's pretty loud here.
02:05So, I mean, people are coming here to these demonstrations.
02:09They have said all along that the government is not really interested in a deal,
02:14that the government could have either gone to the second phase of the deal that was made in January
02:20to, you know, go for more release of the hostages.
02:24And Israel then broke the ceasefire and the war to come to a new deal together, to a new framework with Hamas.
02:31So, people would also say, of course, the court has also come out, but you do have people who do support the government as well.
02:39And among them are also some relatives of the hostages.
02:43But all, you know, again, having said that, if you're looking at polls here in Israel,
02:49over 80 percent of the people, between 70 and 80 percent usually in those surveys,
02:55say that people really want an end to the war and want to see those hostages coming home.
03:01But the government doesn't seem to listen to them.
03:03And, of course, this doesn't have just implications for the hostages.
03:07We also have to talk about Palestinian residents in Gaza City.
03:11Gaza is the heart of the Gaza Strip.
03:15So, those people in there now are having also these fears that they will be displaced again.
03:22Many have sought refuge and shelter in Gaza City.
03:25Of course, the bombardment is also going on while we speak.
03:28But also, that has, of course, its repercussions, not just for the hostages.
03:34So, Tanya, with so much public opposition, also the military warning against this plan,
03:40international criticism that's mounting, how is the Israeli government justifying its decision to push to seize Gaza City?
03:48Well, Prime Minister Netanyahu has always said that, you know, his goal is to eliminate Hamas.
03:59These goals have changed over the war, but this was the main goal.
04:03And also then, you know, up and down.
04:05Of course, also he said that the hostages will be brought home.
04:09He denies that he has other plans.
04:11But people here that are coming here have said, you know, he does not have this interest in going forward for another deal.
04:20So, basically, this is what we're hearing from people here.
04:24And they are, of course, hoping, they're very fearful now, what's happening if the Israeli army will go into Gaza City.
04:32Because what some of the families have said, they know that some of the hostages, the living hostages, might be in Gaza City.
04:40And we've seen this previously.
04:42When the army is coming close, people here fear that they might be killed, or they might be killed also accidentally, or they might be killed by their captors.
04:51And that those deceased hostages that are still being held in Gaza will also be lost forever.
04:58That was DW correspondent Tanya Kramer reporting for us from Tel Aviv.
05:02Tanya, as always, many, many thanks indeed for your reporting.
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