The fate of 130 Israelis captured and held hostage by Palestinian militants in Gaza sparked protests and disruptions in a parliamentary committee session in Jerusalem on Monday. Relatives of the hostages stormed the session, demanding the government take more action to secure their release after a group of 253 were captured in the cross-border Hamas rampage of Oct. 7. Amid growing war fatigue in the region, U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian efforts to mediate have made little progress in reconciling Israel's interpretation to destroy Hamas and Hamas's demand that Israel withdraw and free thousands of Palestinians in exchange for releasing the hostages.

As fierce battles continue in Gaza, with the Israeli military reporting the killing of dozens of militants in Gaza's southern city, relatives of the hostages disrupted the Knesset finance committee and staged protests outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence. The ongoing turmoil has reignited calls for an election and has weakened support for Netanyahu's hard-right government, with opposition continuing to grow stronger amidst the ongoing conflict.