Hundreds of thousands protest against Israeli government

The demonstrations were ignited on Sunday last week after the bodies of six captives were recovered from the Gaza Strip.

In Tel Aviv, the main site of the protests, organisers reported that over 500,000 people participated. Other significant demonstrations took place in Jerusalem, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, and near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea.

After the main protest in Tel Aviv, demonstrators gathered near the Ayalon Highway, blocking it and setting a bonfire on nearby Begin Street. There were scuffles with police.

The momentum from these protests shows no sign of fading. After a week of demonstrations, hostage families and advocacy groups are urging the public to keep taking to the streets to demand a deal.

Last week the head of Israel’s powerful Histadrut trade union, Arnon Bar-David, called for a “complete strike” starting Monday to pressure the government to secure a deal for the release of the remaining captives.

Bar-David emphasised the urgency of reaching a deal, saying, “A deal is not progressing due to political considerations and this is unacceptable.”

Senior Hamas officials said that Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was to blame for the deaths.

“Netanyahu is responsible for the killing of Israeli prisoners,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters, adding, “The Israelis should choose between Netanyahu and the deal.”

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns said a more detailed proposal on the ceasefire would be made in the coming days.

“We will make this more detailed proposal, I hope in the next several days, and then we’ll see,” Burns, who is the chief US negotiator, stated at an event in London.

He added that whether a ceasefire deal can be achieved in the coming days was a question of political will.

Burns stressed the US and other mediators in Gaza would continue to work tirelessly as there is “no good alternative” to a deal.

Meanwhile, relatives of the Israeli captives are accusing Netanyahu of having “torpedoed the deal” with Hamas.

“Anyone who continues to sabotage the deal for the return of the abductees is leading Israel to complete disintegration,” the group wrote on X.

It also called on Israeli politicians to “not be complicit in their abandonment to death and the dismantling of Israeli society”.