Tens of thousands of Israelis filled the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza and calling for an end to the war, just a day after the government approved plans to seize Gaza City.
Protesters carried pictures of the 49 hostages still in Hamas captivity — 27 of whom the Israeli military says are dead — and chanted for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure their return. Organisers from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum claimed as many as 100,000 people attended, while AFP journalists estimated the turnout in the tens of thousands. Authorities provided no official figure.
“We will end with a direct message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: if you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place,” said Shahar Mor Zahiro, a relative of a slain hostage.
On Friday, Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved a major operation aimed at capturing Gaza City, prompting criticism from foreign allies who have been pushing for a ceasefire deal to secure hostage releases and ease Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. Netanyahu insisted on social media that Israel was “not going to occupy Gaza” but to “free Gaza from Hamas.”
The Palestinian Authority condemned the plan as “a new crime,” with president Mahmud Abbas urging immediate action to halt it and calling for the PA to assume responsibility in Gaza.
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 37 people killed by Israeli fire on Saturday, including 30 civilians waiting for aid. According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October 2023, following a Hamas attack on Israel that left 1,219 dead.
The protests mark one of the largest anti-war rallies in Israel since the conflict began 22 months ago.
