Six months after Oct. 7, Israelis demand more be done to rescue hostages from Hamas as war rages

Families of hostages taken by Hamas militants are once again calling on the Israeli government to step up efforts to secure their release as the country's war against the militants in Gaza reached the six-month mark on Sunday.

Thousands rallied in Jerusalem to demand the release of about 130 people still being held by the militants following attacks on Oct. 7 that saw 1,200 killed and 253 taken into Hamas-controlled Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Among those who rallied was Idit Ohel, the mother of Alon, who is now 23. She describes her son as a music lover and a "people person," and said he was taken by Hamas at a music festival in southern Israel.

"We need the government to be with us and do everything they can to liberate our loves one," Ohel told CBC News in an interview.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been facing increasing pressure at home and abroad since Israel declared war on Hamas following Oct. 7 and launched an air and ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.

Aid agencies and other nations, including Canada, have called for a ceasefire as the the death toll from Israel's retaliatory campaign has topped 33,000, the majority of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials. More than 80 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population has been displaced, and Israel's restrictive border controls have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.

At home, Netanyahu's government has faced widespread criticism over the security failure of Oct. 7, and protests against his government have intensified, with some critics charging that the veteran leader has been dragging his feet in securing a deal with Hamas — an accusation he strongly denies.

A brief truce in November saw more than 100 hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians who were imprisoned in Israel, but successive talks on another ceasefire have repeatedly broken down.

"Everybody here has had enough. And people need to understand that and the world needs to stand up and get them back," Michal Nachshon, who made her way from Tel Aviv to the protest outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, told Reuters on Sunday.

"It's above politics, it's above religion. It's a humanitarian issue, and that's what we're here to shout today," she said.

Protester Talia Ezrahi told The Associated Press: "It's an impossible reality for us, it's an impossible reality for the Gazans and the people of this country. We just want to live."

Another protester, Michal Fruchtman, said, "I would agree to anything to return the hostages and stop the mass killings in Gaza."

As another round of talks resumed in Egypt on Sunday, families worry about the safety and status of their loves ones in captivity. Hamas has claimed some hostages have been killed by Israeli bombardment, and Israel said its forces accidentally shot and killed three hostages in December.

"We need the world and we need help from everybody to talk to whoever ... will listen and do something about it — if it's Qatar, if it's Egypt, whoever can help and finish this," Idit Ohel said.