The protests also featured a one-day national strike that paralysed roads, offices and universities in some places. Dozens of demonstrators were arrested throughout the day as tensions escalated between the public and the authorities.
Government Reaction and Family Appeals
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the protests and said they would do nothing other than "harden Hamas's position" while delaying the release of the captives. Even far-right Minister Bezalel Smotrich denounced the protests as a "harmful campaign which serves Hamas."
The strike, organised by families of hostages and others who are opposed to the escalation of the war, was intended to pressure the government to limit the use of military force. Einav Zangauker, mother of the hostage Matan and a top figure in the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, told the crowd in Tel Aviv that they were demanding "a comprehensive and realistic agreement and an end to the war." She said that the war had morphed from "a just war into a futile war."
Shortly after a video of her son appeared, Zangauker posted a tearful message. "My heart burns with longing. Matan, you're burning my heart so, so much. Matan, and I, and a whole nation, we are doing everything for you, for all the hostages," she said.
The Gaza Strip and Humanitarian Considerations
The protests came days after Israel's war cabinet had approved a plan to enter Gaza City and remove its population. Thousands of residents have been fleeing the Zeitoun neighbourhood in southern Gaza City after days of heavy bombardment led to catastrophic conditions. At least 40 people were killed Saturday in Israeli strikes across the territory, local civil defence officials said.
Hamas said its people had faced a constant onslaught in the eastern and southern parts of Gaza City, particularly Zeitoun. In response, the Israeli military said it would lift a restriction prohibiting aid agencies from bringing tents into Gaza to move people to the southern part of the Strip, which has thus far been relatively unaffected by the fighting.
Hala Afana, a Gaza City resident, said that a cabinet member informed her neighbourhood's local council that they would have only four hours' notice to leave their homes before their district was to come under fire from the Israeli army. Netanyahu has wanted the entire city to come under full Israeli sovereignty since 7 October.
The United Nations says that with some 1.9 million, 90 percent of Gaza residents are already displaced. Experts warn of famine conditions and reports of widespread malnutrition.
The war was initiated when Hamas struck Israel on 7 October 2023, leaving roughly 1,200 dead and capturing 251 others. In the interim, Israelis have killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in Gaza.
