Protesters rallied over Israeli hostages being held in Gaza on Sunday at Auckland's Aotea Square. Photo: RNZ
Protesters rallied around Aotearoa Sunday over the ongoing war in Israel, with a large crowd in Auckland calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
At Aotea Square, one man who said his name was John was holding a sign with a photograph of a woman named Eden Zecharya that he said was his cousin being held by Hamas. He said he had no idea of what her current fate was.
"It's a shame that they're not taking the first step to return people," John said. "It's a shame on all sides."
Israeli forces waged ground operations against Hamas in Gaza on Sunday in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the second phase of a three-week-old war aimed at crushing the Palestinian militant group.
Telephone and internet communications are returning gradually to the Gaza Strip, several Palestinian media outlets said early on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Netanyahu warned Israelis to expect a "long and hard" campaign but stopped short of calling the current incursions an invasion.
Even as initial ground operations appeared limited for now, Netanyahu pledged to spare no effort to free the more than 200 hostages, including Americans and other foreigners, held by Hamas.
Israel has tightened its blockade and bombarded Gaza for three weeks since the Islamist group Hamas' devastating 7 October attack. At least 1400 Israelis were killed in the deadliest day of the nation's 75-year history, Israeli authorities said.
Medical authorities in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 2.3 million people, say 7650 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's campaign to obliterate the Iran-backed militants.
- Reuters
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