Israelis stage nationwide protests to demand end to Gaza war and release of hostages

By Lili Bayer

TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Thousands of Israelis took part in a nationwide strike on Sunday in support of families of hostages held in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war and release the remaining captives.

Demonstrators waved Israeli flags and carried photos of hostages as whistles, horns, and drums echoed at rallies across the country, while some protesters blocked streets and highways, including the main route between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

“Today, everything stops to remember the highest value: the sanctity of life,” Anat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, told reporters at a public square in Tel Aviv.

Ahead of Sunday, some businesses and institutions said they would allow staff to join the nationwide strike called by the hostages' families. While some businesses closed, many also remained open across the country on what is a working day in Israel. Schools are on summer recess and were not affected.

A major rally is scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv in the evening.

Israeli police said that 38 demonstrators had been detained by 2 p.m. Some protesters blocking roads scuffled with police, and were carried away by officers.

MILITARY CAMPAIGN

On Sunday, Netanyahu told the cabinet: "Those who call today for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas' position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of October 7 will repeat themselves over and over again."

The prime minister, who leads the country's most right-wing government in history, said his government was determined to implement a decision for the military to seize Gaza City, one of the last major areas of the enclave it does not already control.

That decision is widely unpopular among Israelis and many of the hostages' families, who fear an expanded military campaign in Gaza could risk the lives of their loved ones still held captive. There are 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza, of which Israeli officials believe around 20 are still alive.

"There is no time – not for the lives wasting away in hell, nor for the fallen who may vanish in the ruins of Gaza," said the Hostages Families Forum, which represents many families of captives held in Gaza, on Sunday.

After nearly two years of war in Gaza, ignited by the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic talks.

Negotiations towards a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. Hamas has said it would only free the remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war, while Netanyahu has vowed that Hamas cannot stay in power.

The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would soon seize Gaza City.

On Sunday, Hamas called the plan criminal, saying it would force the displacement of hundreds of thousands from Gaza City.

More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign in Gaza, according to local health officials there who said on Sunday at least 29 had been killed in the past day. Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel. Over 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who attended a rally in Tel Aviv, expressed support for the protesters.

"The only thing that strengthens the country is the wonderful spirit of the people who are going out from home today for Israeli solidarity," he wrote on X.

(Reporting by Rami Amichay in Tel Aviv and Lili Bayer in Jerusalem, additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Menna Alaa El Din in Cairo; Editing by Alison Williams)