A march of families of Israeli prisoners detained by the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip arrived on Friday in occupied Jerusalem, a day before a major demonstration expected in Tel Aviv, in an attempt to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu's government to return them.

The march reached the entrance to West Jerusalem and was made up of thousands of Israelis who accompanied it since its launch from the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv a few days ago.

A major demonstration is scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv tomorrow evening, Saturday, to support the demands of the families of the prisoners, and the number of participants is expected to reach about 300,000 Israelis.

The families of the prisoners demand that the war government - led by Netanyahu - work immediately to release their children and reject any partial deals, according to what was reported from the body that follows up on their affairs.

The march arrived in West Jerusalem at a time when Netanyahu is facing accusations of procrastinating in concluding a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, as he says that his forces will continue their war on the Gaza Strip until these prisoners are “liberated” by force.

Israeli estimates indicate that there are 240 prisoners held by the resistance factions in Gaza. Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), previously confirmed that the brigades have about 200 prisoners, dozens of whom were killed in an Israeli bombing, and the rest are with the Jerusalem Brigades. The military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, and other factions.

The Hamas movement reported that the Israeli government is delaying concluding a deal to release the prisoners, as Hamas is offering Israel a truce for several days, the entry of fuel and food into Gaza, and the release of prisoners from Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of a number of Israeli prisoners who hold foreign nationalities.

Exchange deal

Meanwhile, Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said on Friday that there is no prisoner exchange deal.

Hanegbi added during a press conference in Tel Aviv that Israel will not stop the fire in Gaza without liberating those he described as kidnapped.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with the American CBS network that Israel is closer to recovering the hostages than it was before the start of the ground operation in the Strip on October 27.

The Israeli occupation army said that it found near the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza the body of an Israeli female soldier who the Al-Qassam Brigades announced a few days ago had been killed as a result of an Israeli bombing.

In the past few days, there have been reports that talks on a possible prisoner exchange deal mediated by Qatar and the United States have reached an advanced stage.

However, Reuters quoted a Palestinian official as saying that Hamas suspended negotiations regarding the prisoners after the actions of the Israeli army in Al-Shifa Hospital.

Political analysts believe that Netanyahu's government is not actually concerned with the issue of prisoners or civilian detainees in Gaza, and that it refuses to approve humanitarian truces for fear of being forced little by little to stop the war without achieving its goals, which it considers more important than anything.

In this context, Reuters today quoted a source as saying that Pope Francis will meet next week with relatives of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's second-in-command, said that the Vatican believes that the release of the "hostages" and a ceasefire are essential points for resolving the crisis.

The movement called on the families of Israeli prisoners to put pressure on the Netanyahu government before it is too late.