.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&trim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0&ssl=1 "Israeli frustration over the war in Gaza erupts into fierce protests")
Israeli protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza attempted to shut down the country Sunday in one of the largest and fiercest protests in 22 months of war.
Organisers, representing the families of hostages, claimed that hundreds of thousands of people took part.
It follows frustration in Israel over plans for a new military offensive in some of Gaza’s most populated areas.
Many Israelis fear that could further endanger the remaining hostages. Twenty of the 50 who remain are believed to be alive.
“We live between a terrorist organization that holds our children and a government that refuses to release them for political reasons,” said Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held in Gaza.
Protesters gathered at dozens of places including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theatres closed in solidarity.
Police said they arrested 38 people.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing competing pressures including the potential for mutiny within his coalition.
“Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’ position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated,” he said, referencing the Hamas-led attack in 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and sparked the war.
The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released some hostages earlier this year, far-right members of his cabinet threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government.
Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called Sunday’s demonstrations “a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas’ hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future.”
The new offensive would require the call-up of thousands of reservists, another concern for many Israelis.
Hospitals and witnesses in Gaza said Israeli forces killed at least 17 aid-seekers on Sunday, including nine awaiting UN aid trucks close to the Morag corridor.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed more than 61,900 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children.
