'Netanyahu Is Killing the Hostages and Destroying Democracy': Tens of Thousands Protest Across Israel
Tens of thousands of Israelis protested across the country on Saturday evening, demanding the release of hostages and opposing the Netanyahu government.
The protests closed a week of intense demonstrations amid Israel's renewed fighting against Hamas in Gaza and the collapse of the cease-fire.
Tens of protesters attempted to block Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv and were dispersed by police forces. Four people were arrested. In Jerusalem, two people when protesters attempted to demonstrate in front of Netanyahu's residence in the city center.
A large protest march made its way to Metzudat Ze'ev, the building that hosts the main staff of Netanyahu's Likud party in central Tel Aviv.
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In Tel Aviv's Habima square, demonstrators rallied against the government-approved dismissal of Shin Bet security agency chief Ronen Bar and ahead of the government's plans to fire the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. They later marched to join families of hostages outside the defense ministry for their weekly protest.
Protesters at HaBima Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday.Credit: Itai Ron
Protesters gather outside Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday.Credit: AFP/JACK GUEZ
Israel Police also deployed the National Guard at the protests, despite the fact that it was created to fight crime in Israel's Arab community.
Doron Steinbrecher, who was released from Hamas captivity in January after 471 days, spoke at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
"I remember the morning in captivity that began with the sound of explosions, realizing that I wasn't going home," recounting when the first cease-fire ended over a year ago.
"The experience there, after so much time, is that they've given up on you. It's a pain that's impossible to explain."
Released hostage Doron Steinbrecher speaking at the protest in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
Addressing protesters at Hostage Square, she said, "I was here, with you. I was here in my dreams during captivity. I was here in the square. We knew that you were here, and it gave us strength."
"It's a miracle that I came back alive. They ask me if I'm okay, and I say yes, but I'm not okay. I came here because it's the right thing to do. Because the public needs to understand that it's the most important thing," she said, adding: "I have the fear that they'll be forgotten, that we'll learn to live alongside war, that it'll become normal."
Protesters in HaBima Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday.Credit: Itai Ron
Opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke earlier on Saturday, saying that "Nothing is more important than the hostages, nothing is comparable."
"But we also came to tell Gali Baharav-Miara, and to Ronen Bar, and to [Supreme Court President] Isaac Amit you are not alone."
Lapid added that if the government decides to dismantle Israeli democracy, "We will organize a tax revolt," warning protesters that government members are "stealing your money. They're stealing billions of shekels from taxpayers and reserve soldiers and giving it as bribes to [Haredi] people who shout 'we'd rather die than enlist.'"
The protesters went on to cry "Strike Now." These last years, Israel's Histadrut labor federation, which represents organized labor in Israel, announced two separate general strikes across Israel, once during the judicial coup protests of 2023, and a second one when the bodies of six Israeli hostages were found murdered in a tunnel in Gaza.
Thousands of protesters at HaBima Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday.Credit: Amir Goldstein
Chairman of the center-left party The Democrats, Yair Golan, who was pushed to the ground by police during a protest in Jerusalem on Thursday, addressed police chief Danny Levy, saying that if will let the government take advantage of its power then he will be "remembered as someone who stood against his people."
Golan also called for a union between his party, the National Unity party, headed by MK Benny Gantz and Lapid's Yesh Atid party.
"I call on my fellow opposition leaders, Eisenkot, Lapid and Gantz – let's unite," Golan said.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Nation Unity MK and former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot is working toward leading a large bloc of parties in the upcoming Israeli elections, uniting the centrist National Unity and the Yesh Atid party.
Gaya Gilboa-Dalal, whose hostage brother Guy was filmed by Hamas onlooking the release of three other hostages last month, expressed concern for her brother's emotional and physical well-being.
"I want to hug my brother while he's alive – he needs to come home as soon as possible," she said. "I have one request: don't let me grow up without my big brother."
The father of slain Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra, Ronen, said that while most Americans "see the urgency of bringing back all the hostages," Netanyahu has different priorities.
Ronen and Orna Neutra, whose son Omer is held captive in Gaza, speaking in HaBima Square on Saturday.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
"Just this week, he fired the head of the Shin Bet. He said he no longer has faith in him. This nation no longer has faith in [Netanyahu]."
The mayor of Hod Hasharon, a large city in central Israel, Amir Kochavi, said he is calling on Netanyahu and ministers not to act against the High Court's injunction regarding the suspension of Shin Bet chief's dismissal. According to him, he spoke on behalf of the mayors of "Tel Aviv, Rahat, Haifa, Gush Dan, Emek Hefer, Umm al-Fahm, Herzliya, Metula, and at least 60 other regional councils, local councils, and municipalities from various geographic and demographic areas."
In Jerusalem, many thousands also gathered to protest. Danny Elgarat, brother of the slain hostage Itzhak, whose body was returned to Israel last month, said that Netanyahu prefers the hostages return "dead and silent, unable to tell their story."
"[Netanyahu] entrusts the national security of the state and the lives of soldiers and hostages to fascists, racists, and messianic politicians," Elgarat said.
Protesters in Tel Aviv, on Saturday.Credit: Itai Ron
"I call on the Attorney General to declare the prime minister incapacitated if he does not stop the killing of hostages in Gaza. I call on the IDF Chief of Staff not to carry out the illegal order to bomb the hostages in Gaza," he added.
Thousands were also protesting in the northern city of Haifa. Boaz Zalmanovich, whose father, Arye, was killed in Hamas captivity, said that the hostages' families "bore and bother" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "U.S. Envoy [Steve] Witkoff said 'the Israeli public wants the hostages back, Netanyahu is going against the will of the people.'"
According to Zalmanovich, it is not possible to separate the abandonment of the hostages and Israel's "march towards dictatorship."
Ada Sagi, released from Hamas captivity after 53 days, spoke at a rally in in southern Israel.
"On Tuesday, I woke up to the sound of fighter jets. I reached for my phone to check the news, and I couldn't believe my eyes: what I feared had come true. What will happen now to the living hostages? What will be the fate of the fallen being held there? After all, we know all too well: war near the hostages is a sure recipe for their murder. Indeed, to our great sorrow, Israel's priorities have shifted," Sagi said.
Ada Sagi, a released hostage, speaks at the Nir Oz community rally in southern Israel, Saturday.Credit: Nir Oz communications
"Mr. Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, leave the 'deep state' alone and start dealing with our loved ones, both the living and the fallen," she added. Netanyahu uploaded on Wednesday to X calling for the right to stand against a "leftist deep state."
Protesters in northern Israel on Saturday.Credit: Oded Raz
Ahead of the protests, families of the hostages called on the public to demonstrate against the hostilities in Gaza on Saturday night, from the encampment near the defense headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Yehuda Cohen, the father of hostage Nimrod, encouraged Israelis to take to the streets. Labeling the situation as an emergency, he said the prime minister "is killing the hostages and destroying the country."
Ifat Kalderon, the cousin of Ofer, who was released from Hamas captivity last month, addressed President Trump, saying that "Netanyahu is cunningly conducting a misinformation campaign and influencing the American government as well."
Protesters in Nahariya in northern Israel on Saturday.Credit: Itamar Berger
"He managed to convince you, Mr. President, that the goal of destroying the Hamas regime takes precedence over saving the hostages. But this is a lie. The Israeli and security interests are first and foremost the hostages," she said.
Merav Svirsky, whose brother Itay was killed while in Hamas captivity, said: "Netanyahu dismantled the negotiation team, withheld their mandate, and is the one who still refuses to present an Israeli proposal for the hostages' return."
Protesters in Be'er Sheva in southern Israel on Saturday.
The past week has seen intensifying anti-government protests, continuing in Jerusalem. On Saturday evening, protesters will march toward Netanyahu's residence in a rally calling for the return of the hostages and opposing government policies. More protests are planned in Jerusalem on Sunday, coinciding with a government meeting where a no-confidence vote against the Attorney General is expected.