Flare bombs thrown at Netanyahu's home during protests demanding prisoner swap deal

The Israeli Prisoners' Families Authority announced on Saturday evening that thousands are demonstrating in dozens of locations in Israel to demand a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli police said that initial reports were received about firecrackers being thrown towards the home of the occupation government's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesarea, while the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that what was thrown was a flare bomb, and the police are opening an investigation into the incident.

Israeli media reported that thousands of Israelis demonstrated in front of the home of Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, while another demonstration will be held in occupied Jerusalem. However, Israeli media reported that the weekly demonstration near Netanyahu's home in Caesarea was cancelled, before the police announced that fireworks were fired at his home.

Following the incident of firing flares at Netanyahu's home, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that the incitement against Netanyahu had crossed all boundaries and that throwing flares at his home crossed a red line, while Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid "strongly" condemned the firing of flares at Netanyahu's home, saying that "the police must arrest the perpetrators and hold them accountable."

🔥A new targeting of Netanyahu, this time by Israelis. 2 light bombs were fired from the beach in the direction of Netanyahu's house in Caesarea. The shooter ran away.
Searches are underway with the help of a helicopter and firing flares pic.twitter.com/6L6JSvUUnQ

— Jerusalem Captive (@JerusalemCapti) November 16, 2024

For his part, former member of the Israeli War Council, Benny Gantz, stressed that "firing flares at the Prime Minister's home is a serious matter that I strongly condemn, and I am certain that the Shin Bet and the police will arrest the perpetrators."

Over the past two weeks, the political landscape surrounding the negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza has undergone a dramatic transformation, starting with the US elections and the victory of former President Donald Trump, the dismissal of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and ending with the occupation’s escalation of its bombing of Lebanon, which made the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza more distant than it has been in more than a year.

Still, some families of dozens of Israeli prisoners hope the changes will revive momentum around the issue. “I think there’s new hope,” Varda Ben-Baruch, the grandmother of Israeli-American Idan Alexander, 20, a soldier captured from his base on the Gaza border during Operation Protective Edge, told The Associated Press.

The talks have reached a dead end in recent months, largely due to the insistence of the occupation army on demands to complete the war, and freedom of action in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Alexander's parents, Adi and Yael Alexander, who live in New Jersey, met with Trump and President Joe Biden in Washington this week and pleaded with them to work together to return all the captives in one deal.

“As a grandmother, I say, come together — Trump wants peace in this region, and Biden has always said he wants the hostages released, so work together and do something important for human life,” Ben-Baruch said.

The Gaza war continues for the 407th day, leaving behind more martyrs and wounded, more destruction, more infrastructure, more hunger and more disease. Over the past few hours, 11 Palestinians were killed and others were injured in Israeli airstrikes and artillery on the north and south of the Gaza Strip, while the occupation forces continued to blow up buildings in the Jabalia camp in the north.

(New Arab)