Protests in Tel Aviv Demand Hostage Release Deal

Protesters blocked traffic in Tel Aviv in the continuation of demonstrations demanding the Israeli government do more to secure a deal to return the hostages held in Gaza.

Eleven months into the war, numerous rounds of diplomacy have so far failed to clinch a ceasefire deal to end the conflict and bring the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza.

Frustrations have spilled into the streets in the past week after six hostages were shot dead by Hamas, which saw thousands rallying to pressure the government on the issue.

Several hundred were on the roads near the Israeli defense ministry, blocking traffic before allowing it to pass in intervals.

The parents of hostage Matan Angrest, a 21 year old Israeli soldier captured by Hamas, said they wanted the government to do more to prevent any more dying in Gaza, including their son.

Also hundreds of Jordanians marched in downtown Amman to salute the slain Jordanian who killed three Israeli civilians in the occupied West Bank before security forces shot him dead at the Allenby Bridge border crossing.

Celebrating with fireworks and offering sweets, demonstrators hailed the assailant as a hero who avenged the death of thousands of Palestinians killed in the war in Gaza.

The assailant was a 39-year-old truck driver who came from the influential Huwaitat tribe in southern Jordan, according to family members.

It was the first attack of its kind along the border with Jordan since Oct. 7, when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas carried out an assault on southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza that has since escalated throughout the region.

The attack took place in a commercial cargo area under Israeli control where Jordanian trucks offload cargo entering the West Bank, officials said. The crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, lies about midway between Amman and Jerusalem just north of the Dead Sea.

Jordan was investigating the shooting and a Jordanian official said the crossing has been closed.