In one of the largest eruptions of Israeli public outrage since the Israel-Hamas war began, hundreds of thousands of people took to streets across the country on Sunday to oppose the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza.
The day of national strike and noisy protest demanding a ceasefire and the return of Israelis held hostage in Hamas tunnels saw highways blocked, business and universities closed, marches, and plumes of black smoke billowing from bonfire barricades.
Capping the day as night fell, demonstrators streamed toward the Tel Aviv square that has become the focal point of the struggle to liberate their compatriots. Protesters of all ages spilled into streets surrounding what is now called “Hostage Square,” with a turnout as high as 500,000 out of a national population of nearly 10 million, according to organizers.
Why We Wrote This
Israelis closed businesses, universities, and streets in a massive outpouring of rage and opposition to the government’s stated plans to expand the war against Hamas in Gaza. How much pressure this places on the hard-right coalition is still uncertain.
“The Israeli government has never made a real effort toward an inclusive deal and an end to the war,” Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among the 20 hostages still believed to be alive, told the crowd. “They turned the most justified war into a false one. Ministers took pride in torpedoing deals.”
Ms. Zangauker has become one of the most outspoken hostage family members and the de facto face of the movement trying to pressure the government to, as their slogan goes, “Bring Them Home.”
Government pushes back
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which depends on the support of far-right ministers who oppose ending the war and who call for new settlements in Gaza, recently approved a plan to send ground troops into Gaza City. Ms. Zangauker and other advocates for the hostages say such a move would be a death sentence for those hostages who have managed to survive this long despite abuse and minimal food.
The plan has faced massive international backlash, including warnings that it could intensify the hunger and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the danger Palestinian civilians there already face from the war. In Israel, there is outrage that an expanded operation would risk not only hostages’ lives but soldiers’ lives for what many see as a decision based more on coalition politics than national security.
The last time an Israeli crowd surged to anything approaching the numbers gathered on Sunday was almost a year ago, after six young Israelis were executed by their Hamas captors after hearing the sounds of approaching Israeli soldiers. That horrifying event reinforced for many Israelis that only a diplomatic deal, not military pressure, is the way to win the release of those who remain.
Mr. Netanyahu pushed back on those protesting, saying in a statement on Sunday that it only emboldened the enemy.
“Those who today call 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 Oct. 7 will be repeated,” he said, referring to the Islamic militant group’s brutal 2023 attack that instigated the war.
While the protests on Sunday were on a massive scale, demonstrations have been ongoing since soon after the war began, calling for the government to be as proactive as possible in securing the release of what was originally 251 hostages. To date, the largest number who have returned have been handed over as part of two short-lived ceasefire deals.
Influence on government?
So far, it does not appear that the overwhelming public support for a truce in exchange for the hostages – seen consistently in polls for months – has made any impact on government decision-making.
“Many people want to be proactive with ending the war,” but unlike in many democratic countries, “this government does not listen to the Israeli discourse at all, not to polls, not to anything. So, people went out in despair, but still wanting to do something,” says Tal Schneider, a political and diplomatic correspondent for the Times of Israel.
That said, she thinks there might be an opening now, not with the most hard-line Cabinet ministers, but among the members of Mr. Netanyahu’s own Likud party, and perhaps even the prime minister himself.
“They see what is going on and they see the war is very unpopular, that … they don’t have the support of the chief of staff of the [Israel Defense Forces] or the support of the media or in the polls, so the streets are another brick in that wall of things that they do need,” Ms. Schneider says. “And many people think Netanyahu is putting the threat [of widening the war] to get Hamas back at the negotiating table,” she adds. “If this is the case, the demonstrations could help him because if he decides in two or three weeks not to go ahead with the plan, then there will be support for that.”
Among those trying to make their way through the dense crowd on Sunday night to get closer to the stage to hear the speeches was Michal Solomon, a musician from the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim.
“Honestly, I don’t feel that that the government is listening, but, as a citizen, I don’t know what else to do,” Ms. Solomon says.
She says multiple reasons drove her to protest.
“It’s all woven in together: the dissatisfaction with the government on their handling of the war, being horrified by images coming out of Gaza of starving people, even though we understand Hamas is manipulating these images, and, of course, the fate of the hostages. In Israel, we used to come out to protest about one specific issue, but now there are so many to demonstrate about.”
