Tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday evening in one of the largest rallies in Israel since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, demanding both an end to the conflict and the release of hostages.
The protest, which organisers said drew around 500,000 people, followed a day of nationwide strikes and demonstrations intended to pressure the government into halting its military campaign. Hostage Square, a plaza that has become the focal point for public anger, was packed with protesters chanting, “Bring them all home! Stop the war!”
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which led the mobilisation, accused the government of prolonging a futile war. “We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war,” said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held captive. “We demand what is rightfully ours, our children. The Israeli government has transformed a just war into a pointless war.”
The protests came just over a week after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, as the conflict approaches its second year. The war has created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the territory, with Gaza’s health ministry reporting more than 61,000 Palestinians killed, most of them civilians. The toll does not include thousands still believed to be trapped under rubble or dead from indirect consequences of the war.
Demonstrations erupted across Israel, with protesters blocking roads, lighting tyres and clashing with police. More than 30 people were arrested. The Hostage Families Forum pledged to “shut down the country” until the government secures an agreement to return those held in Gaza.
PM Netanyahu condemns Gaza protest
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the protests, arguing they “not only harden Hamas’s position and draw out the release of our hostages, but also ensure that the horrors of 7 October will reoccur”. Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, described the demonstrations as a “perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas” and accused organisers of calling for “surrender”.
Opposition figures took a different view. Benny Gantz, a former defence minister, said the government was “attacking the families of the hostages” while “bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years”.
Egyptian mediators have in recent days renewed efforts to secure a 60-day truce deal involving the release of hostages, after talks in Qatar collapsed without agreement.
