Israelis take to the streets to urge hostage deal, fresh elections

Following the end of the latest round of talks on a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war, thousands of people in Israel again demonstrated in favour of a hostage deal.

At a rally, the mother of a hostage held by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas called on the leadership of the Israeli security apparatus to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from torpedoing a deal, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The mediating states Qatar, Egypt and the USA hope that an agreement will lead to a ceasefire as well as the release of the hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip.

"Even if this is not a perfect deal, it is the only deal there is," at a rally the father of one of the hostages was quoted as saying.

Protests took place in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, in Haifa and many other places around the country.

Many demonstrators accuse Netanyahu of sabotaging a deal and bowing to the demands of his ultra-religious and far-right coalition partners. They are against making concessions to Hamas. Netanyahu is dependent on them for his political survival.

The demonstrators once again demanded the resignation of the government and new elections.

In the event of fresh elections, Netanyahu potentially faces losing the prime minister's job. This in turn would accelerate the prosecution of alleged corruption of which the prime minister is accused.

Talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the USA failed to achieve a breakthrough on Friday and were postponed, but were described as constructive.

The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails have been dragging on for months.