A protest by activists from the “Tzav 9” movement and families of hostages took place Friday morning near the Kerem Shalom crossing, with the protesters blocking humanitarian aid trucks destined for the Gaza Strip.

Among the participants is Shai Wenkert, the father of Omer who was kidnapped by Hamas and later released. He stated, “We are here to put pressure on Hamas. We must stop the fuel going to Hamas — this is about saving the hostages and protecting Israel's security. We demand: no aid to Hamas, period.”

One of the activists at the site said, “The aid trucks are being blocked by citizens who love the people [of Israel] and came here from all over the country, on day 602 of the war, while 58 hostages are languishing in captivity without receiving any aid. This aid is going straight to Hamas.”

On Thursday night, Arutz Sheva - Israel National News reported that during a conversation between hostage families and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he admitted that one of the two main reasons Hamas remains in power is the profits it earns from humanitarian aid.

During the conversation, the Prime Minister said: “Today, to prevent Hamas from taking control of the aid, we’ve established four distribution centers managed by the United States. Hamas sees the aid being distributed without controlling it.”

A hostage’s relative responded: “We all know that’s not true. Aside from the U.S.-run aid distribution, there are still trucks operating through the old method, going straight into Hamas’s hands. Even the distribution centers themselves aren’t functioning properly.”

She asked: “Mr. Prime Minister, how many trucks have you committed to per day?”

Netanyahu replied: “There is no commitment to any specific number of trucks.”