Tuesday morning news: September 3, 2024

AUDIO: [Israel demonstrations]

Pressure on Netanyahu for cease-fire » Pressure continues to mount on the Israeli government to strike a deal with Hamas to ensure the safe return of the remaining Israeli hostages.

AUDIO: [Israel demonstrations]

Thousands of Israeli demonstrators poured into the streets on Monday calling for a cease-fire agreement after six hostages were found dead in a tunnel in Gaza over the weekend.

And many of the protesters blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

PROTESTER: And it's true that Hamas are the ones that pulled the trigger, but the fact that they're still there is on Netanyahu.

And President Biden was also critical of Netanyahu when questioned by reporters.

REPORTER: Mr. President, do you think it's time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue? Do you think he's doing enough?

Hamas executed the six hostages inside of Gaza during a rescue effort by Israeli forces.

Netanyahu response » For his part, Netanyahu expressed his sympathies Monday to the families of the murdered hostages.

NETANYAHU (translated):  I apologize to you that we have not been able to bring them back alive. We were close, but we were not successful.

But to his critics in the street and in the media, he struck a much firmer tone.

NETANYAHU:  I don't believe that either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving the release would seriously ask Israel, Israel to make these concessions. We've already made them. Hamas has to make the concession.

And the U.S. State Department has seemingly agreed with the prime minister, declaring repeatedly that Israel has made serious concessions and that it was Hamas that was holding out.

He said caving to Hamas’ every wish only puts the Israeli people in further danger.

Mother of killed American-Israeli hostage/hostage funeral » Meantime, mourners gathered at a funeral in Jerusalem today for Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American hostage taken in the Hamas terror attacks on October 7th.

Hersh’s mother Rachael Goldberg-Polin said he was the “perfect son.”

POLIN:  Okay, sweet boy. Go now on your journey. I hope it's as good as the trips you dreamed about because finally, my sweet boy, finally, finally, finally, finally is free. I will love you and I will miss you every single day for the rest of my life.

His body was among six recovered from a tunnel in Gaza over the weekend.

It is believed that Hamas terrorists killed the six hostages during a rescue attempt by Israeli forces.

Polio vaccines » Health authorities in the Gaza Strip have begun a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio. The racing to prevent an outbreak in the war-ravaged territory.

SAITA: To stop the suffering from people of this preventable cause, we have to vaccinate 90 percent of the people less than 10 years old.

Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza through tomorrow before moving on to the more devastated north and south regions.

Israel has agreed to limited pauses in fighting to allow the vaccinations. Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — diagnosed in a 10-month-old boy.

U.S. hotel workers strike » More than 10,000 workers at 25 U.S. hotels and chains walked off the job over the Labor Day weekend.

They’re demanding higher pay, lighter workloads and the reversal of COVID-era cuts.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren joined striking workers in Boston.

WARREN: I walk the picket line with you today because one job should be enough.

Thousands of others are striking in cities including Honolulu, San Francisco and Seattle.

The strikes targeting Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt hotels are set to last one to three days.

Trump assassination probe » On Capitol Hill, one of the members of the House task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump says many unanswered questions remain about the failure of the Secret Service to stop the shooting.

LAUREL LEE: We have been getting briefings and answers and responsiveness from them, but there’s still a long way to go.

GOP Congresswoman Laurel Lee says House investigators have toured the site of the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.

LEE:  And I will tell you, it is all the more inexplicable when you see it, because this is a small area. And we actually got up on the roof where the shooter was that day and got a perspective on just how close he was able to get to President Trump.

The FBI has not yet determined a motive for the shooting. Nor has it ruled out the existence of co-conspirators.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Defusing tensions in the South China Sea. Plus, a long career as church secretary.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.