Demonstrators across Israel called on Sunday for an end to the Gaza war and a deal to release hostages still held by militants, a push sharply criticised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.

The protests come more than a week after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, 22 months into a war that has created dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory.

The war was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, during which 251 people were taken hostage.

Forty-nine captives remain in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

A huge Israeli flag covered with portraits of the remaining captives was unfurled in Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostage Square — which has been a focal point for protests throughout the war.

“This is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages,” demonstrator Ofir Penso, 50, told AFP as thousands gathered in downtown Tel Aviv ahead of a night of protests.

“Israelis are not all alike. There is a substantial part… that opposes the official policy,” he added amid the crowd of protesters, some of them carrying flags emblazoned with “681”, the number of days hostages have been held in Gaza.

Demonstrators also blocked roads, including the highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they set tyres on fire, according to Israeli media footage.

READ ALSO: Mourners Gather In Gaza For Funeral Of Al Jazeera Staff Killed By Israel

The police said more than 30 protesters were arrested for disturbing public order.

Organisers also called for a general strike on Sunday — the first day of the working week in Israel.

Nentanyahu slammed the protesters, saying their actions “not only harden Hamas’s position and draw out the release of our hostages, but also ensure that the horrors of October 7 will reoccur”.

‘Shut Down The Country’

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said protesters would “shut down the country today (Sunday) with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war”.

Their tally includes a soldier killed in a 2014 war whose remains are held by Hamas.

Recent videos released by Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad showing two weak and emaciated captives have heightened concern for the fate of the hostages.

“If we don’t bring them back now -– we will lose them forever,” the forum said.

Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce deal that would include hostages being released, after the last round of talks in Qatar ended without a breakthrough.

Some Israeli government members who oppose any deal with Hamas slammed Sunday’s demonstrations.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decried “a perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas” and calls for “surrender”.

Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, condemned the government “attacking the families of the hostages” while “bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years”.

AFPTV footage showed protesters at a rally in Beeri, a kibbutz near the Gaza border that was one of the hardest-hit communities in the Hamas attack, and Israeli media reported protests in numerous locations across the country.

– Famine Warnings –

The Israeli plans to expand the war into Gaza City and nearby refugee camps have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.

Chief of staff Lieutenant General Eya Zamir said on Sunday that the military was “approving the plan for the next phase of the war”.

“We will maintain the momentum of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ while focusing on Gaza City. We will continue to strike until the decisive defeat of Hamas,” he said, referring to a major offensive launched in May.

In response Hamas said the plans would result in “a new wave of extermination and mass displacement”.

According to an Army Radio report, the plan includes residents of Gaza City being evacuated before troops encircled and seize the city, beginning “in the coming weeks”.

Tens of thousands of reserve soldiers would be called up for the mission, the report added.

Israel on Saturday said it was preparing “to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection”.

UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire on Sunday killed at least seven Palestinians waiting to collect food aid near two sites.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,944 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Israeli police make dozens of arrests, use water cannons on protesters who gathered for the nationwide demonstration.

Thousands of protesters in Israel have taken to the streets demanding an end to the war in Gaza and a deal to free captives held in the besieged enclave, as the military intensifies attacks on Gaza City to force tens of thousands of starving Palestinians to flee again.

Israeli police made dozens of arrests and used water cannons on protesters who gathered Sunday for the nationwide demonstration with more than 300,000 reportedly turning out in Tel Aviv by nightfall – one of the largest since the uproar over six captives found dead in Gaza last September.

Israeli schools, businesses and public transport have been shut down, with demonstrations planned in major cities as part of a national day of action by two groups representing a number of the families of captives and bereaved families.

Restaurants and cafes also closed, while Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that dozens of Israeli artists, celebrities, and athletes voiced support and joined the strike.

Major unions, including lawyers, doctors, and the business forum, as well as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, also confirmed their participation in the strike.

Protesters, who fear further fighting could endanger the 50 captives believed to remain in Gaza, only about 20 of whom are thought to be alive, chanted: “We don’t win a war over the bodies of hostages.”

“Military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back – it only kills them,” former captive Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv’s so-called “Hostage Square”. “The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”

Advertisement

Sunday’s rallies came just days after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to advance on Gaza City, nearly two years into a genocidal war that has devastated the Gaza Strip, left much of its population on the brink of famine, and led to Israel being increasingly internationally isolated.

At the demonstration in Tel Aviv, activists unfurled a huge Israeli flag covered with the faces of captives still held in Gaza. Protesters also blocked major roads, including the highway linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where tyres were set alight and traffic came to a standstill, according to local reports.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of those held, declared a nationwide strike.

“We will shut down the country today with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war,” the group said, pledging to escalate their campaign with a protest tent near the Gaza border.

“If we don’t bring them back now, we will lose them forever,” the group warned.

Demonstrator Ofir Penso, 50, echoed this sentiment in his remarks to the AFP news agency: “This is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages.”

“Israelis are not all alike. There is a substantial part … that opposes the official policy,” he added amid the crowd of protesters, some of them carrying flags emblazoned with “681”, the number of days hostages have been held in Gaza.

Numerous businesses and municipalities went on strike as a show of solidarity. The two major theatres in Tel Aviv also halted their performances. In Jerusalem, businesses closed as demonstrators joined marches. “It’s time to end the war. It’s time to release all of the hostages. And it’s time to help Israel recover and move towards a more stable Middle East,” said Doron Wilfand, a 54-year-old tour guide speaking to AFP.

The aunt of Israeli-German hostage Alon Ohel pleaded for his rescue in the demonstration in Tel Aviv, describing his dire condition: “He is bound in chains, severely wounded, and likely to lose his sight. He is suffering from severe head injuries and shrapnel throughout his body, and he is alone. He is hungry, hot and gasping for breath. His life is in imminent danger – save him!”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also participated in the strike.

“We are shutting down the country today. Because our hostages are not pawns that the government is allowed to sacrifice for the sake of the war effort, they are citizens that the government must return to their families,” Lapid told protesters in a video posted on X.

Advertisement

“They won’t stop us, they won’t tire us, they won’t exhaust us. We’ll continue to fight until the hostages return home, there’s a deal, the war ends,” he added.

Former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also joined the strike.

“We have a supreme duty to bring everyone home,” Gallant said in statements carried by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

“There is only one way to accomplish this mission: first to return the hostages and then continue to eliminate Hamas down to the last one of them.”

Several former Hamas captives, released during a ceasefire in the spring, held a banner reading: “Bring them home now!”

Israeli Hollywood actress Gal Gadot, 40, also visited “Hostage Square” to meet with relatives of the captives. A video shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum showed Gadot comforting the wife of one captive.

During a rally at the square, the sister of an agricultural student from Nepal who was taken captive by Hamas spoke publicly for the first time. Fighting back tears, she said the family has received no sign of life from him for almost two years.

Presidents of Israeli universities also attended the protests to demand that the Netanyahu government reach a ceasefire and a captive swap deal in the Gaza Strip.

Last March, all heads of universities and colleges in Israel signed a letter addressed to Netanyahu. “We stated clearly that the government must complete the agreement and bring everyone back,” Daniel Chamovitz, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said in his speech.

“This was not a political claim; it was a moral and conscientious demand,” he said.

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat and consul general in New York, told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv that while protests were spread across the country, turnout remained relatively limited.

“The number of people is pretty small … I do expect it to increase during the day,” he said, noting that many shops, restaurants and universities were closed, with public transport running at half capacity. “It’s not a general strike in the sense that people envisage, but it is palpable, it’s tangible, you can feel it in the air,” he said.

On Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the unrest, Pinkas was scathing. “Most prime ministers would have resigned after October 7th … He is not just another prime minister. He cares only about his survival. He is driven by some Messianic delusions of redrawing the Middle East.”

Pinkas added that Netanyahu was deflecting public anger by blaming “the elites” and a “deep-state cabal” rather than taking responsibility.

Israeli government condemns protests

President Isaac Herzog voiced support for the captives’ return, urging international pressure on Hamas rather than heeding calls to halt the war.

But senior government figures lashed out at the protests.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich denounced them as “a perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas”, while Culture Minister Miki Zohar said blocking roads “is a serious mistake and a reward to the enemy”.

Advertisement

Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, condemned the government for “attacking the families of the hostages” while “bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years”.

Police reinforced their presence across the country, warning that no “public order disturbances” would be tolerated. Demonstrations were also held near the Gaza border, including in Be’eri, a kibbutz badly hit during the Hamas-led attack of October 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in the attack on southern Israel that triggered what campaigners say is Israel’s war of vengeance.

Nearly 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority women and children, in an Israeli offensive that has been dubbed a genocide by multiple rights groups.

Israeli schools, businesses and public transport have been shut down, with demonstrations planned in major cities as part of a national day of action by two groups representing a number of the families of captives and bereaved families.

Protesters, who fear further fighting could endanger the 50 captives believed to remain in Gaza, only about 20 of whom are thought to be alive, chanted: “We don’t win a war over the bodies of hostages.”

Police said they had arrested 32 as part of the demonstration – one of the fiercest since the uproar over six captives found dead in Gaza last September.

Sunday’s rallies came just days after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to advance on Gaza City, nearly two years into a genocidal war that has devastated the enclave, left much of its population on the brink of famine, and led to Israel being increasingly internationally isolated.

At Tel Aviv’s so-called “Hostage Square”, activists unfurled a huge Israeli flag covered with the faces of captives still held in Gaza. Protesters also blocked major roads, including the highway linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where tyres were set alight and traffic came to a standstill, according to local reports.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of those held, declared a nationwide strike.

“We will shut down the country today with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war,” the group said, pledging to escalate their campaign with a protest tent near the Gaza border.

“If we don’t bring them back now – we will lose them forever,” the group warned.

President Isaac Herzog voiced support for the captives’ return, urging international pressure on Hamas rather than heeding calls to halt the war.

But senior government figures lashed out at the protests.

More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority women and children, in an Israeli offensive that has been dubbed genocide by multiple rights groups.

Aug. 17 (UPI) — A nationwide strike on Sunday commenced in Israel as several hundred thousand people protested, demanding the government secure the release of 50 hostages still held by the militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Families and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the attack on October 7, 2023 attack seek their release and the end of the war. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum and October Council, which represents family members of hostages or relatives of those killed, organized the strike and demonstrations.

The council wanted nearly one million people to go through Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and others to join in activities at cities throughout the nation.

“Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life,” Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, said at Hostage Squae. “Today, we stop everything to join hands — right, left, center and everything in between.”

The largest demonstrations were in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where they blocked major roads and closed businesses. They passed out yellow ribbons at intersections and protested outside the homes of government ministers.

Families and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas take part in a protest and strike in Jerusalem on Sunday. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

The demonstrations are among the largest ones since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

They started at 6:29 a.m., the exact time when Hamas launched its attack on Israel.

Chairs and posters represent Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

Israeli police said 38 protesters were arrested in Israel for disturbing the peace as of early Sunday afternoon. They deployed a water cannon to disperse the crowd who sat inside a tunnel along a road that leads to the capital in Jerusalem.

Families of hostages announced in Tel Aviv an “emergency break” until they are released.

Protesters seek the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. They also want the war to end. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

“Today, we stop everything to save the lives of 50 hostages and soldiers,” Anat Engrest, whose son, Matan, is held hostage in Gaza, during a news conference Sunday with October Council. “Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during a visit to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, voiced his support for the families.

Drummers join families and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the attack on October 7, 2023, by Hamas. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

“We want them back home as soon as possible,” Herzog said. “The world should want them back home as soon as possible. Stop being a bunch of hypocrites. Press — because when you know how to press, you press — press and tell Hamas, ‘No deal, no nothing, until you release them,’ ”

He said the hostages are the “most important issue on world affairs.”

Families and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas block a major Jerusalem highway during a nationwide protest and strike on Sunday. Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the demonstrations.

“Those who are calling today to end the war without defeating Hamas not only harden Hamas’ stance and delay the release of our hostages — they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will repeat themselves again and again,” he said at a cabinet meeting.

The strike was a “cynical political maneuver on the backs of the hostages,” Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Minister of National Security, said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said: “You can continue to hide behind spins and political calculations, but you cannot escape responsibility.”

The group plans to set up an encampment on the Gaza border. “Waypoint 50” will represent the 50 hostages to pressure the government to get their release.

“I know firsthand what it’s like to be in captivity. I know that military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back — it only kills them,” released hostage Arbel Yehoud, whose boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, is still held captive, said. “The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”

“We are united in one simple demand directed at the Israeli government: Put an Israeli proposal on the table today for a comprehensive deal — to end the war in exchange for the return of the last hostage,” Vicky Cohen, whose son, Nimrod, is a hostage, said. “No slogans, no sabotage, no demands that we know the other side won’t accept. “It’s time to end the horrific nightmare the entire country has been living in for 22 months.

It wasn’t disclosed how long the strike would last.

Histadrut, Israel’s largest labor organization, didn’t join the strike, though they encouraged employers to allow their workers to participate.

“If I knew that a strike — not just for one day but longer — would end the matter, stop the war and bring back the hostages, I would go for it with full force,” Histadrut chair Arnon Bar-David, senior representatives of the business sector, said to the Times of Israel. “Unfortunately, and although my heart is bursting with anger, it has no practical outcome.”

Technology companies, law firms, academic institutions and others in the public and private sector plan to take the day off or refrain from business transactions.

Last week, the strike was announced after they said the hostages’ lives are in danger when Israel’s security cabinet voted to expand the war and take over Gaza City.

An estimated 90% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced, the Agency for Palestinian Refugees said in May.

There was a cease-fire between Jan. 19 to March 1, during which 25 Israeli living hostages and 1,737 Palestinian prisoners were released. Israeli believe 20 hostages are still alive.

In late March, Hamas agreed to release five hostages, including the American-Israeli Edan Alexander, as part of a 50-day cease-fire proposal from Egypt and Qatar. Alexander was released in May, but there was no cease-fire.

A 60-day ceasefire was later proposed by the United States.

In July, the last round of negotiations ended without any deal when Israel and the United States withdrew their teams in Doha, Qatar. They accused Hamas of not negotiating in good faith.

Here are the updates from day 681 of the war:

■ The organizers of the central protests calling for a cease-fire and hostage deal have estimated that over 2.5 million Israelis have participated in demonstrations across the country on Sunday. According to the organizers, 300,000 people attended the evening’s rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, marking it as by far the largest protest since the demonstrations following the murder of six hostages in captivity last year.

■ Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, shared a video of her son from Hamas captivity. The footage, dated January 2024, was recently recovered by the IDF in Gaza.

■ Protesters blocked several key roads, including Tel Aviv’s central Ayalon Highway, the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and the road leading to the defense headquarters in Tel Aviv. On some roads, demonstrators burned tires. Over 28 protesters have been arrested so far, with police using force in many instances. In Jerusalem, officers used a water cannon to disperse demonstrators.

■ During the afternoon, as thousands were protesting in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, a missile launched from Yemen triggered a siren leading the protesters to seek shelter. The IDF said the missile was intercepted.

■ A truck attempted to ram into a group of protesters from the Gaza border community of Nir Oz in central Tel Aviv, while in central Israel’s Ra’anana junction, protesters said they were assaulted by a truck driver.

■ Many released hostages, including Ilana Gritzewsky, Arbel Yehoud, Sharon Cunio, and Yarden Bibas, joined the protesters. Protesters staged a wedding ceremony between Gritzewsky and her boyfriend, hostage Matan Zangauker. “This day of strike is important, but it cannot be just one day,” Arbel Yehoud said. “We have to disrupt again and again until those in captivity come back.”

■ Dozens demonstrated in front of the homes of several ministers, including Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Science Minister Gila Gamliel.

■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with several ministers, accused protesters of harming the chances of returning the hostages and guaranteeing “that the horrors of October 7 will return.” Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan by saying, “Netanyahu’s toxic and detached statement only proves how much the protests scare him.”

■ The IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, said during a tour of the Gaza Strip that they “are approving the next stage of the war.” Hamas said that Israel’s Gaza transfer plan constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area.

■ Dozens of Jewish and Israeli-Americans rallied at the White House in solidarity with families of the hostages, calling for a cease-fire hostage deal, the end of the war in Gaza and an end to the starvation in the territory.

■ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS’s Face the Nation why the State Department decided to suspend visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza, saying congressional offices have presented evidence that some organizations helping to obtain these visas have “strong” links to Hamas, and that the U.S. will not partner with groups friendly to the terrorist organization.

■ Seven Palestinians died of hunger and malnutrition in the past day, including two children, the Gaza Health Ministry reported. At least 11 Palestinians have been killed since daybreak, six of them while waiting for aid, health officials in Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip told Al Jazeera.

■ 11 people were arrested as hundreds protested in Haifa in support of Yona Roseman, a 19-year-old conscientious objector who was sent to jail due to her refusal to serve in the Israeli army over the “genocide in Gaza.”

■ IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir received the operational plans for the takeover of Gaza City during a discussion at the Gaza Division following his visit to the Gaza Strip. At this stage, the army intends to call up tens of thousands of reservists to replace regular troops in other combat arenas and to lead the fighting in the city. The IDF estimates that the takeover of Gaza could take several weeks.