Hundreds of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets on Sunday, staging the country’s largest demonstrations since the Gaza war began. The protests, centred in Tel Aviv’s “Hostages Square,” called for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated deal to free hostages still held by Hamas.
Organisers estimated that the turnout reached into the hundreds of thousands, making it one of the biggest anti-government rallies in recent memory. The families of hostages led the movement, warning that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to push for the reoccupation of Gaza City endangered the roughly 20 captives still believed to be alive.
“This government has transformed a just war into a pointless war,” said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan has been held in Gaza since October. Speaking before the crowd, she demanded “a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war.” Hours earlier, a video was released of her son in captivity, intensifying emotions at the rally.
The protest movement was bolstered by a one-day national strike, which shut down roads, offices, and several universities. Nearly 40 demonstrators were arrested. Netanyahu lashed out at the protests, accusing participants of “hardening Hamas’s stance” and delaying hostage negotiations. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich went further, describing the demonstrations as “a harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas.”
The unrest follows the Israeli war cabinet’s decision last week to occupy Gaza City and forcibly displace its population—an escalation condemned by the United Nations Security Council. Since then, Israeli bombardment of the city’s southern Zeitoun neighbourhood has killed at least 40 people, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency, and displaced thousands more.
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Israel says it plans to move as many as one million civilians to camps in southern Gaza. Aid officials warn that the Strip, where 90 percent of the 2.1 million residents are already displaced, is on the brink of famine.
The conflict began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas fighters killed about 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 251 others. Nearly a year later, the war has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, reduced Gaza to rubble, and left Israeli society deeply divided over the government’s strategy.
