On Saturday night, thousands of Israelis took to the streets in cities across the country, pressing the government to strike a comprehensive agreement with Hamas to end the Gaza war and bring home the remaining hostages. The protests came on the eve of a nationwide strike organized by hostage families, who say public pressure is the only way to force the government’s hand.
The demonstrations unfolded as Israel’s defense establishment prepared for a push into Gaza City in the Strip’s north — a move that relatives of hostages and some security officials warn could further imperil captives still alive in Hamas custody.
Despite growing calls for restraint, Israel is moving forward with plans for an expanded campaign. Meanwhile, reports have surfaced in recent days suggesting Hamas may now be willing to release some of the 50 remaining hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed Saturday that Israel will only accept a deal that satisfies its broader objectives: ending the war on Israel’s terms, disarming Gaza, and removing Hamas from power.
Analysts caution that these conditions make a swift, comprehensive agreement unlikely.
Large protests were staged not only in Tel Aviv but also in Jerusalem, Haifa, Rehovot, and other cities, alongside smaller rallies at junctions nationwide. At Tel Aviv’s weekly anti-government demonstration outside the Kirya military headquarters, Einav Zangauker — whose son, Matan, is among the hostages — said families are finished waiting for Netanyahu to act at his own pace.
“Tomorrow we’ll bring the country to a halt,” she declared, vowing that the strike will mark the start of escalating actions. “We’ll stop everything for the lives of our children, for Israel’s future. We can’t wait any longer.”
Zangauker insisted the families’ campaign will not end with a single strike: “Tomorrow is only the beginning. We demand security, peace, and an end to this war.”
Directly confronting the government’s military plans, Einav Zangauker warned that pressing ahead with the capture of Gaza City could have devastating consequences for those still in captivity. “If we don’t stop the decision to occupy the Strip, we will wake up to ‘permitted for publication’ notices about 20 hostages,” she said, referring to the phrasing Hebrew outlets often use when reporting deaths of soldiers or captives once cleared for release by censors.
The nationwide strike planned for Sunday has not received formal backing from the influential Histadrut labor federation, but support has poured in from municipalities, businesses, universities, and sectoral unions, including the Israel Airports Authority staff union.
Zangauker’s appeal was echoed by other hostage relatives, among them Itzik Horn, who addressed demonstrators at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square — a gathering point seen as a nonpartisan counterweight to the more overtly anti-government protests nearby. Horn, whose son Eitan remains in Gaza after another son, Iair, was freed in February, urged broad public participation.
“Tomorrow Israel will come to a standstill,” he declared. “I call on everyone to take part. This is not a day off to wander through shopping malls — it is a day to raise our voices in anguish.”
“It’s not only a day to stand with the hostage families,” Horn told the crowd, “but a civic act to safeguard Israel’s moral compass.”
He sharply criticized the government, accusing it of abandoning the captives. Horn questioned how ministers could press ahead with a wider offensive in Gaza after witnessing harrowing footage of malnourished hostages and hearing testimony from those who were freed, describing extreme suffering, torture, and psychological abuse.
If the leadership insists on seizing Gaza City, he added bitterly, then it should be honest about the implications. “Why don’t they have the courage to go before the public and declare that they’ve chosen my son Eitan’s death?” Horn asked.
“As we protest, they claim we are harming our own loved ones and serving Hamas’s interests,” Horn said. “But tell me — how does the feud between the defense minister and the chief of staff do anything to bring Eitan and the other hostages home?”
He then turned to the central question. “Why are they still in Gaza?” he shouted to the crowd, before answering himself: “Because the leadership does not want to bring them back. The time has come to return them.”
