Thousands of protesters rallied in Jerusalem on Sunday demanding the release of around 130 hostages still held in Gaza after six months of Israel’s offensive against Hamas, Reuters reports.

Hamas gunmen burst into Israel on Oct 7, killed 1,200 people in their homes, on army bases, along roads and at an outdoor rave, and inflicting sexual violence on some of their victims, according to a UN team of experts. The gunmen also seized 253 hostages. Around half of them were released as part of a brief truce deal in late November.

“Their families and everybody here has had enough. And people need to understand that and the world needs to stand up and get them back,” said Michal Nachshon, 39, who made her way from Tel Aviv to the protest outside Israel’s parliament.

“It’s above politics. It’s above religion, it’s a humanitarian issue and that’s what we’re here to shout today,” she added.

While some hostage parents at Sunday’s rally called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to bring home the hostages, speakers largely kept messages apolitical, focusing on their pain and the urgent need to get their loved ones home.

Asked whether the government was doing enough to bring back the hostages, 56 per cent of people polled in a survey aired by Israel’s N12 News on Sunday answered no, against 39pc who said yes.