Tel Aviv — Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages.
A day earlier, the prime minister’s office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages.
“This isn’t just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most,” Lishay Miran Lavi, wife of hostage Omri Miran, told the rally, pleading to US President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war.
Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza.
Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive.
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 expand the war.
The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday.
“They [the government] are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country,” said Rami Dar, 69-year-old retiree, who travelled from a nearby suburb outside Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages.
Saturday’s demonstration attracted more than 100,000 protesters, according to organisers.
“I’m not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success,” said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children.
“I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference.”
Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Trump to take action to stop Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war.
A few protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military.
Israel’s military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said on Saturday that at least 39 had been killed in the past day.
Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory.
The announcement from the prime minister’s office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all the enclave.
Tal, a 55-year-old high schoolteacher, said at the rally that expanding the war was “terrible”, warning it would result in the deaths of soldiers and hostages and insisting that the war should end with the military withdrawing.
“We don’t have anything to do there. It’s not ours.”
Reuters
