Hundreds of thousands attend Tel Aviv protest calling for end of Gaza war and hostage releases

Hundreds of thousands of people have packed into central Tel Aviv on Sunday night at the end of a nationwide day of protest and strikes to call for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end the Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages still held by Hamas.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum claimed the rally was attended by 500,000 people there, while other protests took place in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba and several smaller cities, with demonstrators blocking roads and highways.

In Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, Ofir Braslavaski, father of the hostage Rom Braslavski, told the crowd “My Rom has no time, the hostages have no time.”

He referred to the distressing video of his son and hostage Evyatar David released by Hamas last week, adding:”The entire country saw, all of the leaders saw, but the cabinet chose to expand the war and abandon them.”

In further damning words Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen said: “We’re living under a terror organization that refuses to give us back our children for political reasons,” he said of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

“My son, Nimrod, is suffering so that the government can build settlements in Gaza, and I refuse to let him be sacrificed on that altar.”

Throughout Israel, demonstrators blocked roads, set tyres on fire and clashed with the police. More than 30 protesters were arrested, it was later confirmed.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group vowed on Sunday that protesters would “shut down the country” with the goal of bringing back the hostages and ending the war.

Throughout Israel, demonstrators blocked roads, set tyres on fire and clashed with the police. More than 30 protesters were arrested, law enforcement said.

Netanyahu criticised 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 7 October will reoccur”.

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