Israeli protester yells at Netanyahu to resign at Holocaust ceremony

JERUSALEM

An Israeli protester disrupted a wreath-laying ceremony by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Holocaust memorial event in West Jerusalem on Monday.

A video published by Israeli media from the event at the Holocaust Museum showed a protester yelling at the prime minister to resign.

“We must not descend into the abyss again. What else is necessary for you to go home?” the protester yelled.

“Let the people of Israel remember their abandoned sons,” he added, in reference to scores of Israelis held captive in Gaza since last Oct. 7.

Netanyahu is facing mounting calls to resign over his failure to take responsibility for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed nearly 1,200.

Israeli authorities estimate that more than 130 Israelis have been held captive by Hamas in Gaza since the attack.

More than 34,700 Palestinians have been killed and over 78,100 others injured in a brutal offensive launched by Tel Aviv on the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, according to local health authorities.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to reach a Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap have failed to make any breakthrough as Israel insists on launching a ground attack on Rafah, home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on Gaza in return for any hostage swap with Tel Aviv.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar