Israelis protest against Netanyahu, demand ceasefire deal with Hamas
Protesters have gathered in Tel Aviv in some of the largest protests against the regime of Benjamin Netanyahu since 2023, demanding a ceasefire deal to secure the release of captives being held in Gaza.
Demonstrators gathered in the hundreds in Tel Aviv while a large group of people blocked a highway to the occupied al-Quds on Wednesday.
They were holding posters with pictures of the faces of captives being held in Gaza or signs demanding a ceasefire now.
“If there’s no deal, we will burn the country down,” one group chanted.
Thousands of people have staged days of anti-Netanyahu protests since he resumed intense airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on March 18 and shattered a two-month ceasefire that had brought relative calm to the Palestinian territory and secured the release of Israeli captives.
Following the rally in the commercial hub in Tel Aviv, demonstrators are due to travel to al-Quds for a rally outside parliament on Wednesday evening to protest a bill that would increase political influence over the appointment of judges.
Polls show a majority of Israelis are against the end of the ceasefire and want negotiations with Hamas to continue.
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “bears full responsibility” for the collapse of the ceasefire following his decision to renew strikes on Gaza.
Many feel Tel Aviv’s resumption of the genocidal war in Gaza is a betrayal and that Netanyahu and his regime are forsaking the remaining captives, leaving them to die in Gaza.
Hamas once again reiterated on Wednesday that captives may be killed if Israel attempts to retrieve them by force and airstrikes continue in Gaza.
The resistance group said in a statement that it was “doing everything possible to keep the occupation’s captives alive, but the random Zionist (Israeli) bombardment is endangering their lives.”
There are 58 captives still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
