Relatives of captives storm Knesset after Netanyahu rejects Hamas hostage proposal

Relatives of hostages who were kidnapped by terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, stormed the Knesset on Monday, demanding Israel do more to free their family members one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he rejected conditions presented by Hamas to end the war and release the captives.

About 20 people stormed a Knesset Finance Committee session in Jerusalem chanting, "Release them now, now, now!" and holding signs with messages such as "You will not sit here while they die there," according to Reuters. 

About 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others were taken captive when Hamas and other terror groups invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and about 110 remain hostage following a temporary ceasefire in November. 

The demonstration comes after Netanyahu said Sunday that he will not agree to Hamas' demands in exchange for freeing the remaining hostages. 

"I am working on this around the clock. But let it be clear: I utterly reject the Hamas monsters' capitulation terms," Netanyahu said. 

"Hamas is demanding, in exchange for the release of our hostages, the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of the murders and rapists of the Nukhba and leaving Hamas in place," he said, referring to the Hamas special forces unit known as the Nukhba Force. 

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian officials are negotiating a deal to free the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip. Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas from Gaza, but Hamas' proposal included demands for a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from Gaza and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, including some who participated in the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli officials said, according to NBC News.

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