Huge crowds take to Tel Aviv streets
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis packed Tel Aviv on Sunday night in one of the country’s biggest demonstrations in recent years, demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strike a deal to free hostages still held in Gaza.
Organisers said around half a million people flooded into Hostages Square, the symbolic heart of the protest movement, capping a nationwide day of strikes, marches and road blockades.
Families of the captives led the demonstrations, insisting only an agreement with Hamas could bring their loved ones home alive.
Anger over Gaza assault
The protests erupted just a week after Netanyahu vowed to escalate Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, ordering the army to prepare plans to seize Gaza City.
That move drew condemnation abroad and warnings from Israel’s own generals that it could put hostages at greater risk.
Israel’s offensive, now approaching its second year, has devastated the enclave. The Hamas Health authorities say more than 61,500 Palestinians have been killed (This figure includes Hamas fighters), while famine looms after months of bombardment and siege.
Netanyahu insists Hamas must be “defeated” before any truce can be reached, claiming that calls to halt the war only embolden the militants. But protesters dismissed this as political spin, with freed hostage Arbel Yehoud telling the Tel Aviv rally: “Military pressure doesn’t bring back hostages – it only kills them.”
Tensions on the streets
While the rally in Tel Aviv drew vast crowds, the wider strike had a mixed impact. Many businesses in Jerusalem stayed open and the country’s largest trade union, Histadrut, refused to join.
Roads were blocked in several cities, with tyres set alight and traffic halted. Police responded with mounted officers and water cannon, arresting dozens.
The unrest also coincided with bleak economic news. Israel’s statistics bureau reported that output slumped by 3.5% in the second quarter, hit hard by the June conflict with Iran and the grinding Gaza war.
War pressures mount
Israel’s assault began after Hamas’s surprise October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people and seized 250 hostages. Dozens were released in a brief ceasefire earlier this year, but more than 100 remain in captivity.
Now, as Netanyahu pushes for a fresh offensive, critics at home and abroad fear it will deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza while doing little to save the captives.
For many on the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, the message was blunt: only a deal will bring the hostages home, and only peace will end the spiral of death on both sides.
