TEL AVIV — In the plaza that Israelis have christened “Hostage Square,” hundreds of thousands of people banged drums, shouted slogans and booed mentions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in his right-wing government.
Some held pictures of those still in captivity in Gaza, others vented their frustration over plans for a new military offensive in some of the enclave’s most populated areas that many Israelis fear could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages, 20 to 50 of whom are believed to be alive.
Among the demonstrators at Sunday’s protest was Ruby Chen, the father of Itay Chen, an Israeli American soldier who was among the 1,200 killed in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and whose body remains in Gaza.
“The Jewish Bible speaks about the Jewish life,” Chen told NBC News. “Life comes before revenge, and that is exactly what we are asking for this government to remember.”
The protest in Tel Aviv on Sunday was one of dozens organized nationwide, including outside of politicians’ homes, at military headquarters and on major highways. Demonstrators blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in solidarity. Police said they arrested 38 people.
The nationwide marches were on the same day as a general strike called by organizations representing relatives of those still in captivity. One of those groups, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, said in a statement that nearly 1 million people had attended rallies nationwide.
In Hostage Square, the boisterous atmosphere softened as former hostages and family members of those still being held took to the largest of three soundstages to demand the release of the remaining hostages. Around 250 people were taken hostage on Oct. 7.
Many of the speeches, signs and prepared videos appealed directly to President Donald Trump in English, pleading with him to compel Netanyahu to “seal the deal” with Hamas.
While Sunday’s protests were among some of the largest and fiercest in 22 months of war, smaller demonstrations held on a weekly basis have yet to sway the government to end the conflict, which Netanyahu has said he is determined to continue until Hamas is completely destroyed.
The prime minister and his top officials poured scorn on Sunday’s demonstrations.
“Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’s position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated,” the prime minister told his Cabinet on Sunday.
His ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the Cabinet’s most hawkish right-wing voices, in a post on X called the protests a “toxic and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas, buries the hostages in tunnels, and tries to bring the State of Israel to surrender to its enemies and endanger its security and future.”
Their government’s approach appears to have the backing of Trump. “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed,” he wrote Monday on Truth Social. “Play to WIN, or don’t play at all!”
While Israeli media reported that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with senior officials on Sunday to finalize the plans for the expanded operations in Gaza, it remains unclear when the country’s military will begin the new offensive in the north of the enclave and in what Netanyahu has called the “central camps” of Gaza.
The U.N. humanitarian office said last week that 1.35 million people were already in need of emergency shelter items in Gaza, so any armored incursion could displace hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have been uprooted multiple times during a war that has killed more than 62,000 people, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave.
Two children were among five people who died of malnutrition-related causes, the Gaza Health Ministry said Monday, bringing the total number of malnutrition-related deaths to 263.
The United Nations also warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Much of the aid destined for Gaza has been prevented from entering since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after ending a ceasefire. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organizations say the flow is far below what is needed.
In Hostage Square, some held up pictures of emaciated Palestinians, but many simply wanted an end to the fighting and a deal to free those hostages who remain in Gaza.
“I’m sure that most of the Israelis are here with us now,” said Keren Leibovitz, 54, whose son Tomer was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, while he was serving in the Israeli military.
Leibovitz added that before Israel worked on completely defeating Hamas, the majority of her countrymen “want the war to end and they want the hostages to come back.”
