Lithuania’s Nauseda wins first round of presidential election
Incumbent president will now go into a run-off against rival Ingrida Simonyte on May 26, in repeat of 2019. Incumbent Gitanas Nauseda has won the first round of voting in Lithuania’s presidential election, putting him on track for a second and final term in office. With nearly all of the votes counted, former banker Nauseda was on 46 percent, just short of the overall majority needed for a first-round victory. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte was second with 16 percent and the two will now go head-to-head in a run-off on May 26 in a repeat of the last election in 2019. Eight candidates were on the ballot this time around, with campaigns largely focused on security issues and the threat posed by neighbouring Russia following its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. All the main candidates agreed the country, once part of the Soviet Union and now a member of NATO and the European Union, should boost defence spending to counter the perceived threat on its borders. Nauseda, 59, said he was confident of victory in the second round and would require “no strategy” to campaign against Simonyte. Both Nauseda and Simonyte support increasing defence spending to at least 3 percent of Lithuania’s gross domestic product (GDP), from the 2.75 percent planned for this year. The increase in spending would pay for the modernisation of Lithuania’s army and infrastructure ahead of the deployment of a brigade of German troops in Lithuania who are expected to be combat-ready from 2027. Some eight candidates were vying for Lithuanians’ vote on Sunday [Petras Malukas/AFP] General election looms While agreeing on Russia policy, the two candidates differ on other issues such as same-sex civil partnerships, a contentious policy in the predominantly Catholic country with a population of 2.8 million people. While Nauseda opposes such partnerships, Simonyte, a 49-year-old fiscal conservative, is supportive. Lithuania’s president has a semi-executive role, which includes heading the armed forces and chairing the supreme defence and national security policy body. The president also represents the country at the EU and NATO summits. In tandem with the government, the president sets foreign and security policy, can veto laws and has a say in the appointment of key officials such as judges, the chief prosecutor, the chief of defence and head of the central bank. In 2019, Simonyte narrowly defeated Nauseda in the first round of the presidential election before Nauseda went on to win the run-off with 66 percent of the vote. Simonyte is also facing a tough test in a general election this October, as her coalition of centre-right parties trails in the polls. Nauseda posed for cameras on election night surrounded by the leadership of the Social Democrats, the likely main challengers for Simonyte at the general election. “I think it will be easy for us to find common ground,” he said about the possibility of the Social Democrats winning. Adblock test (Why?)
NBA playoffs: Nuggets edge Timberwolves, Pacers thrash Knicks in game 4
Defending champs Denver bounced back to level series 2-2 with a 115-107 win over Minnesota, while Indiana beat NY Knicks 121-89 in game four. Nikola Jokic finished with 35 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Denver Nuggets held on for a 115-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the NBA playoff Western Conference semifinal series in Minneapolis. Defending champions Nuggets outgunned the Timberwolves on Sunday as the Indiana Pacers pulled even with the New York Knicks. The Nuggets, fuelled by 35 points from NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon’s 27 points on ruthlessly efficient 11-of-12 shooting and 19 points from Jamal Murray, claimed a second straight win in Minneapolis to knot their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece. The Pacers dismantled the Knicks 121-89 in Indianapolis to level their Eastern Conference semifinal at 2-2. “Now it’s best of three,” Jokic said, adding that the Timberwolves’s stunning victories in games one and two in Denver had only strengthened the defending champions. “We took a hit and we bounced back and hopefully, we can defend the home court now,” said Jokic, looking forward to game five in Denver on Tuesday. 🏆 SUNDAY’S FINAL SCORES 🏆 Tyrese Haliburton and the @Pacers brought the energy from the jump as they get the win and tie up the series! T.J. McConnell: 15 PTS, 10 ASTPascal Siakam: 14 PTS (7-9 FGM)Myles Turner: 13 PTS (5-5 FGM), 3 BLK Game 5: Tuesday, 8:00pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/hEzE18boBJ — NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2024 Pacers double down on sorry Knicks In Indianapolis, the Pacers finally got their high-octane offence firing. After the first two games of the series came down to the final minutes the Pacers fashioned a blow-out as a raft of injuries at last caught up with the weary Knicks. Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points and the Pacers connected on 56.8 percent of their shots, drilling 14 three-pointers and dominating in the paint. TJ McConnell scored 15 points off the bench for Indiana, who had six players score in double figures. After a dunk by the Knicks centre Isaiah Hartenstein to open the game, the first quarter was all Pacers, Indiana pushing their lead to as many as 23 points. Knicks talisman Jalen Brunson was 0-for-5 in the opening quarter and the Pacers bench out-scored the Knicks reserves 17-0 in the period. The domination continued in the second quarter, Haliburton sending the crowd into a frenzy with a three-pointer over Donte DiVincenzo that put the Pacers up by 30 with 5.9 seconds left in the first half. They would lead by as many as 43 before it was over, but despite the rapturous ovation from fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Haliburton said the Pacers must remain focused on the task ahead. “We did our job,” Haliburton said. “They did their job and won two at home, we did our job and won two at home. “We understand the magnitude of game five and we’ll be prepared for that one.” The Knicks were again without OG Anunoby, who injured a hamstring in game two to join key contributors Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic on the sidelines. The strain was telling on Brunson, who is playing through a right foot injury. He connected on six of 17 attempts to score 18 points with three rebounds and five assists before checking out with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter. With the contest out of hand and game five coming up at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, both coaches pulled their starters for the fourth quarter. New York coach Tom Thibodeau would not point to injuries to explain the Knicks’s struggles – including a seven-for-37 performance from three-point range. “Everyone’s got something – it’s the playoffs,” Thibodeau said. “Whether you lose by one or lose by 30, it’s a loss. You’ve got to respond.” Indiana Pacers’s Ben Sheppard rebounds the ball over New York Knicks’s Shake Milton [Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports via Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)
Week in pictures: From Brazil floods to spectacular northern lights
[unable to retrieve full-text content] A look at of some of last week’s events.
How the US State Department shields Israel from sanctions
Inside the labyrinth of the State Department’s mechanisms that allow the flow of weapons to Israel, despite violations. Over the years, the United States government has been creating special mechanisms to shield Israel from sanctions designed to punish countries for human rights abuses. President Joe Biden has paused a weapons shipment to Israel and acknowledged that US weapons have been used by Israel to kill Palestinian civilians, but the US Department of State refused to declare if Israel had broken US or international laws in its war on Gaza. Host Steve Clemons asks Guardian US investigative reporter Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Georgetown University human rights law expert Stephen Rickard about the structures in place that ultimately allow Israel to evade accountability. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 6 killed in Belgorod building collapse, Russia says
Russian regional governor accuses Ukraine of shelling residential building in Belgorod city, near the border with Ukraine. At least six people have been killed and 20 others injured after a building collapsed in the Russian border city of Belgorod, according to Russian officials. A video released by the Russian Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief on Sunday showed firefighters and rescuers working on a huge pile of rubble. The ministry said that six bodies had been recovered from the rubble. “The number of injured, according to the latest data, is 20 people,” emergency services were quoted as saying by the Russian state news agency TASS. Earlier, the Emergencies Ministry said that 12 people, including two children, were rescued from the site. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted a video to Telegram showing a collapsed building with a large hole in it. “Following direct shell fire on a residential building… the entire entrance, from the tenth to the ground floor, collapsed,” Gladkov said, condemning “massive bombings” by the Ukrainian army. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine’s military. One resident told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti she was in a building corridor and her husband was in a bedroom when the explosion hit. “He did not have the time [to escape],” she said, adding that her husband had been injured in the head and face. Air raid alerts continued across Belgorod as rescuers worked, looking for victims in the rubble. The Russian Ministry of Defence later wrote on social media that the building had been damaged by fragments of a downed Tochka-U TRC missile. It also said that air defences had shot down several more rockets over the Belgorod region, as well as two drones that were destroyed in a separate incident. The Belgorod region, on Russia’s western border, has been the target of a large number of strikes. Although most cross-border shelling is seen in rural areas, attacks have also been seen on the Belgorod region’s capital, Belgorod city, which came under fire on Saturday evening, killing one person and injuring 29 more, Governor Gladkov said on social media. In December 2023, shelling in the heart of the city killed 25 people, prompting authorities to start erecting public shelters. Cities across western Russia have come under regular attack from drones since May 2023, with Russian officials blaming Kyiv. Ukrainian officials have not acknowledged responsibility for attacks on Russian territory or on the Crimean Peninsula. Adblock test (Why?)
Guardians of the glaciers – life alongside Pakistan’s vanishing ice
Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan – As we make our way towards Pakistan’s first organic village, an intense one-hour trek along the rugged, steep and unfenced mountainside pathway from Mindoq-Khar, near Kharpocho Fort, my legs are shaking with a mix of fear and strain. The sharp mountain edges stick out threateningly, and I am reminded of the soulful lyrics of Ali Zafar’s Paharon Ki Qasam (Oaths of the Mountains), a tribute to the late Pakistani climbing hero, Muhammad Ali Sadpara from Skardu, who tragically lost his life in February 2021 while climbing the notorious Bottleneck gully which is just 300 metres (984 feet) below the summit of K2. Above us, the sky is a brilliant shade of blue, adding to the surreal beauty of the landscape. As we gain a wider view of the Indus River Valley below us, our 44-year-old guide, Abbas Jaan, stops and draws our attention to the colour of the water. “You can see the water turning a murky grey, carrying with it the particles from the retreating glaciers,” he says, his eyes scanning the slow-flowing waves of this vital drinking water supply. “And even though it’s grey,” he adds, “the glacial water is mineral-rich and incredibly pure.” “But, year by year, these glaciers are melting fast. They are decreasing,” he says, pointing towards the thousands of smaller glacier peaks that surround us in the far distance; some mountains are snow-covered while others are dry and brown. The city of Skardu, from where we have departed, sits some 2,228 metres (7,310 feet) above sea level. It is the gateway to the Karakoram mountain range and some of the world’s highest peaks such as K2, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum, making it a popular destination for trekkers and mountaineers who come to marvel at the breathtaking scenery. Following the rugged, fenceless path to the organic village, Khari Nangsoq [Anam Hussain/Al Jazeera] With a population of more than 200,000, the city boasts a rich cultural blend influenced by Tibetan, Balti and other Central Asian traditions, where diverse Islamic sects, including Noor Bakshi, Sunni and Shia, coexist. But this region of Pakistan is also home to more than 7,000 glaciers – the largest number outside the earth’s polar regions. These icy giants are far more than just a breathtaking natural spectacle; they are vital to the local ecosystem. They serve as a crucial source of freshwater, sustaining agriculture and powering electricity generation through the meltwater that feeds into rivers. Now, however, their existence is under threat. A 2019 study (PDF) published in the Pakistan Geographical Review by Lahore College for Women University, highlights the increasingly unusual behaviour of glaciers in the Karakoram range, compared with glaciers in other parts of the world. The Baltoro Glacier is a particular example. Spanning some 63km (39 miles) in length, the Baltoro is one of the longest glaciers in the world outside the polar regions. Its width varies, but generally ranges from two to three kilometres. The meltwater from the Baltoro Glaciers feeds the Shigar River, which is the main right-bank tributary of the Indus River Valley in the Skardu Valley. It is an essential source of freshwater for this region and beyond, but the study showed that the glacier has been decreasing in size by 0.9 percent each year between 2003 and 2017. The immediate effect of the shrinking glacier is a rise in water levels and even dangerous flooding in the Shigar River. The position of the Baltoro and Sachien glaciers in Pakistan (AJ Labs) Locally, roads have been known to have become completely submerged when water levels rise too high, says Chris Lininger, founder and director of US-based travel company Epic Expeditions, who has been travelling across Pakistan’s intricate terrains, including the Baltoro Glacier, since 2018. “I actually had a problem coming out of a trip when the floods happened in 2022 because the road was just gone,” he says over a Zoom call. “Many [locals] are already in a low socioeconomic state, and when this happens, it’s catastrophic for them.” But the extreme long-term effect will be even more deadly – the water will eventually dry up when the glacier is gone. Adblock test (Why?)
India Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 4: Who votes and what’s at stake?
India is bracing itself for the fourth phase of its weeks-long elections on May 13 to elect 96 members of parliament to the Lok Sabha, or the lower house of parliament, as the world’s largest electoral exercise moves into its final month. The two main contenders for power are Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition of 26 parties led by the main opposition party, Rahul Gandhi‘s Indian National Congress. Last week, the third phase of the voting saw Modi cast his vote in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar constituency. It also saw the competition between the two main contenders heighten as the Congress Party’s former President Sonia Gandhi said Modi and the BJP were focusing “only on gaining power at any cost”. The fourth phase also features a bit of glamour in the east of the country, where Bollywood veteran Shatrughan Sinha is seeking re-election in West Bengal’s Asansol, and to the south, where actress Maadhavi Latha from the BJP is standing for the Hyderabad seat in Telangana. Latha is pitted against Asaduddin Owaisi, a four-time MP from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party. The first three phases of the election, which were held on April 19, April 26 and May 7, saw a voter turnout of 66.1, 66.7, and 61 percent, respectively. The voting so far has been lower than in the 2019 elections. In total, 969 million people are registered to vote in 543 parliamentary constituencies across 36 states and federally-governed union territories. Who is voting in the fourth phase? Registered voters across nine states and a union territory will cast their ballots for the following constituencies: Andhra Pradesh: All 25 constituencies in the southern coastal state Telangana: All 17 constituencies in the southern state Jharkhand: Four of the eastern state’s 14 constituencies Odisha: Four of the eastern state’s 21 constituencies Uttar Pradesh: Thirteen of the northern state’s 80 constituencies Madhya Pradesh: Eight of the central state’s 29 constituencies Bihar: Five of the eastern state’s 40 constituencies Maharashtra: Eleven of the western state’s 48 constituencies West Bengal: Eight of the eastern state’s 42 constituencies Jammu and Kashmir: One of the union territory’s five constituencies Which are some of the key constituencies? Hyderabad (Telangana): Asaduddin Owaisi is being challenged by the BJP’s Maadhavi Latha in his family bastion. Owaisi’s brother, Akbaruddin Owaisi is a member of the state legislative assembly while his father, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, represented the parliamentary constituency, with a substantial Muslim population, six times. Owaisi pitches himself as the voice of India’s Muslim minority whose issues he regularly raises in his parliamentary debates. Owaisi was given the “best parliamentarian” award in 2022. Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): This constituency in Kashmir registered just 15 percent voting in the 2019 election, which was marred by a boycott. This is the first parliamentary election in Kashmir since the region’s special status was removed in August 2019. The two biggest mainstream pro-India parties in the region – the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party – have fielded Aga Syed and Waheed Parra, respectively, as their candidates. Krishnanagar, Baharampur and Asansol (West Bengal): These three parliamentary contests in West Bengal state, bordering Bangladesh, offer a mix of star power and political significance. Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha is seeking re-election from Asansol, while ex-cricketer Yusuf Pathan is taking on senior Congress Party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who has been representing Bahrampur since 1999. Chowdhury was also the leader of the opposition Congress Party in the outgoing Lok Sabha. Pathan is the candidate of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the party that rules the state and is also aligned with the national opposition INDIA alliance – even though the coalition’s members are standing against each other in West Bengal. Yet, the most high-profile electoral battle in the state on May 13, is in Krishnanagar, where the fiery TMC parliamentarian and fierce critic of Modi, Mahua Moitra, is seeking a second term. A former vice president of JPMorgan Chase based in London, Moitra entered politics in 2009. Her parliamentary speeches asking tough questions of the government often go viral. In December 2023, the firebrand MP was expelled from parliament after being accused of accepting cash to ask questions. She said her expulsion was a way to silence her. She has challenged her expulsion in the Supreme Court. The BJP has fielded Amrita Roy, whose husband is a descendant of the erstwhile king of the region, against Moitra. Kannauj and Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh): Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party – a regional powerhouse that has seen its influence shrink with the BJP’s rise – has decided to enter the electoral race in Kannauj in northern Uttar Pradesh state, which accounts for 80 seats in the parliament. The BJP currently governs the state. Kannauj, known for its perfume industry, has been a Yadav family bastion. Akhilesh, his father Mulayan Singh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav have represented the seat since 1999. But in 2019, Dimple lost to the BJP in a shock defeat. Akhilesh’s entry into the electoral fray is an attempt to wrest back the family pocket borough. The other seat that has attracted a lot of attention is Lakhimpur Kheri, where controversial federal Minister of Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni is seeking re-election. Mishra has been caught in a storm since his son Ashish Mishra allegedly ran his car over farmers protesting against now-repealed farm laws. Ashish is out on bail and farmers’ groups as well as activists have been demanding that Mishra be denied a ticket by the BJP. Indore (Madhya Pradesh): This constituency, a stronghold of the BJP, has been in the news for unlikely reasons. The Congress candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew from the race at the last minute, after the last date for candidates to file nominations had passed. The Congress could not field a replacement and Bam later joined the BJP. Thirteen other candidates are in the fray, but the Congress Party has urged voters to opt
NBA playoffs: Stars shine for Celtics, Mavericks in Game 3 victories
Celtics score 106-93 comeback win over Cavs, while Luka Doncic-led Mavericks beat OKC Thunder 105-101. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to score 61 points to fire the Boston Celtics to a bounce-back NBA playoff win over Cleveland as Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic led Dallas over Oklahoma City. Tatum scored 33 points and Brown 28 as top seeds Boston, stunned by the Cavaliers on their home court in game two, beat the Cavs 106-93 in Cleveland to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal on Saturday. For Dallas, Irving scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half and Doncic scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Mavericks rallied for a 105-101 victory that put them up 2-1 against Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City. The Celtics emerged from a nip-and-tuck first quarter with a two-point lead and never trailed again. “We just wanted to bounce back,” Tatum said after they pushed their advantage to 23 points by opening the third quarter on a 14-0 scoring run. “Essentially our back was against the wall, so it was a good test for us to see how we respond,” Tatum said. “We were up for the challenge.” Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for the Cavaliers, but appeared to tweak his troublesome left knee in the fourth quarter. Cleveland halted Boston’s third-quarter spurt with a 9-0 run of their own. But the Celtics had an answer for every Cleveland surge and the Cavs could not get any closer than nine points behind in the final period. In Dallas, the Mavericks dug deep in the face of another bruising defensive effort from the Thunder. Irving’s second-half star turn included a floater that pushed the Dallas lead to five points with 39.3 seconds remaining. 🏆 SATURDAY’S FINAL SCORES 🏆 P.J. Washington follows up 29 on Thursday with 27 today as the @dallasmavs gets the home win and take a 2-1 series lead! Kyrie: 22 PTS, 5 REB, 7 ASTLuka: 22 PTS, 15 REB, 5 AST SGA: 31 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST, 5 BLK G4: Monday, 9:30pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/1D4Cnz7bQ9 — NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2024 Irving ‘doing it all’ Slovenian star Doncic took another pounding, including a hard fall flat on his back after a midair collision with Luguentz Dort, and said he tweaked his sprained right knee as the game ended. “We got the win, that’s all that matters,” said Doncic, who when asked what was hurting the most – his knee, his back or his sore ankle – said “everything”. “I think I’m battling,” he said. A day without travel before the Mavs host game four on Monday was welcome, he added. PJ Washington led the Mavs with 27 points and Dereck Lively added 12 off the bench to help Dallas withstand a 31-point performance from Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both teams struggled to get their offences firing in the first quarter, which ended with Dallas up by three. Oklahoma City connected on 60 percent of their shots in the second quarter to take a 52-51 half-time lead and pushed their advantage to 65-55 with an 11-0 scoring burst in the third. The Mavs responded with a 16-0 run that featured a huge dunk by Washington and was capped by his three-pointer that pushed their lead to 71-65. The run energised the American Airlines Center crowd, but Oklahoma City quickly cut the lead to one before the Mavs responded again. Irving connected on a pair of three-pointers and fed Daniel Gafford for a dunk before Tim Hardaway Jr closed the third quarter with a three-pointer that put Dallas up 82-78. Irving, who handed out seven assists as he focused early on getting his teammates involved, said one Dallas coach told him he had left it a bit late to make a scoring push. But Doncic said his contribution was “amazing”. “He’s doing it all on both ends of the floor,” Doncic said. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said his young team – with an average age of just more than 23 – got a little sloppy in the third quarter to squander a golden chance to grab a win in Dallas. “There’s a lot of things we can learn from,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Thousands flee Rafah after Israeli forces issue evacuation order
Israel issued new evacuation orders in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its military operation. With Saturday’s orders, Israeli forces have now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, pushing into the edges of the heavily populated central area. The orders come in the face of international opposition and criticism. President Joe Biden has already said the United States will not provide offensive weapons to Israel due to its Rafah offensive. The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry point, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties. More than 1.4 million Palestinians have been sheltering in Rafah after fleeing the Israeli military’s bombardments in other parts of the enclave. Considered the last refuge in the Gaza Strip, the evacuations are forcing people to return north to areas devastated by previous attacks. People have already been displaced multiple times and there are few places left in the embattled Strip to move to. Those fleeing fighting earlier this week erected new tent camps in the city of Khan Younis, which was half destroyed in an earlier Israeli offensive, and the central city of Deir el-Balah, straining infrastructure. Adblock test (Why?)
Hamas says a captive has died of wounds sustained in Israeli air strike
British-Israeli Nadav Popplewell was taken captive from Nirim kibbutz by Palestinian group Hamas on October 7. Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, has said British-Israeli captive Nadav Popplewell died of wounds sustained in an Israeli air strike a month ago. The group’s announcement on Saturday came just hours after the Palestinian group released an 11-second video showing Popplewell with a bruised eye. In the video republished on social media and cited by Israeli news outlets, a man is seen wearing a white T-shirt and he introduces himself as 51-year-old Nadav Popplewell from the Nirim kibbutz in southern Israel. Superimposed text in Arabic and Hebrew reads: “Time is running out. Your government is lying.” Popplewell was taken captive in Nirim during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, according to Israel’s Ynet news site. His mother was also taken as a captive but later released during the exchange of captives and prisoners by Hamas and Israel last year. Popplewell’s brother was killed in the attack, Ynet reported. The video posted on Saturday on the Telegram channel of Hamas’s armed wing is the third time in less than a month the group has released footage of captives held in Gaza. On April 27, Hamas released a video showing two captives alive – Keith Siegel and Omri Miran. Three days earlier it also broadcast another video showing captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin alive. The videos come amid growing domestic pressure on the Israeli government to secure the release of the remaining captives. Reporting from Amman, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, said this tactic of releasing videos of captives on a Saturday, when protests take place in Tel Aviv, is a way of pressurising the Israeli government. “This is what’s been a drip-feed if you will from Hamas. Where, by releasing videos, at times showing hostages dead, they are trying to put pressure on the Israeli government,” she said. “But this hasn’t really changed the policies of [the Israeli] government.” On Saturday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel released a statement calling on the Israeli government to strike a deal with Hamas in order to secure the release of captives. “Every sign of life received from the hostages held by Hamas is another cry of distress to the Israeli government and its leaders,” the families’ group said in its statement. “We don’t have a moment to spare! You must strive to implement a deal that will bring them all back today.” Relatives of the captives also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not caring about those being held in Gaza and called on Netanyahu to resign. “If we continue down this path, we will lose not only the hostages but the country itself,” Naama Weinberg, a cousin of one of the captives said at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday afternoon. “There is no victory and can be no victory without the return of the hostages.” Despite the immense pressure, Netanyahu and his government have so far failed to strike a deal with Hamas. Some 1,139 people were killed on October 7 when Hamas and allied fighters attacked southern Israel, and 250 captives were also taken to the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials say 128 of them are still being held in the Palestinian territory, including 36 who are dead. Israel’s seven-month military campaign in Gaza has so far killed at least 34,971 people and wounded 78,641 others. Adblock test (Why?)