Tens of thousands of Israelis flooded the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza, just one day after the Israeli government announced plans to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City.
Protesters carried placards and photos of hostages still held in the Palestinian territory, calling on leaders to prioritize their release. AFP journalists estimated the crowd size to be in the tens of thousands, while a hostages’ families group claimed as many as 100,000 people took part. Authorities did not give an official number, but the turnout was significantly larger than other recent anti-war demonstrations.
Shahar Mor Zahiro, a relative of a murdered hostage, delivered a pointed warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “If you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place.”
Government Pushes Ahead Despite Criticism
On Friday, Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved a large-scale military operation aimed at seizing Gaza City. The decision drew criticism both domestically and from foreign governments, many of which have been urging Israel to agree to a negotiated ceasefire to secure the hostages’ release and ease Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
Despite reports of dissent among top military leaders and mounting international pressure, Netanyahu stood firm. In a late Friday social media post, he declared, “We are not going to occupy Gaza – we are going to free Gaza from Hamas.”
Israel has faced frequent protests throughout the war’s 22 months, with demonstrators repeatedly urging the government to negotiate for the hostages’ release. Past truces have seen hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Of the 251 people taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 remain in Gaza, including 27 the military says are already dead.
Palestinian Authority Calls Move ‘A New Crime’
The Palestinian Authority (PA) strongly condemned Israel’s new military plan. PA president Mahmud Abbas said it “constitutes a new crime” and called for urgent international action to halt it. He also stressed “the importance of enabling the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip.”
During the same meeting that approved the Gaza City assault, Israel’s security cabinet also endorsed principles for ending the war. These included creating an administration in Gaza that would be run by neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. The PA, which was established as part of the peace process toward a Palestinian state, governs limited areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has no control in Hamas-led Gaza.
Global Condemnation of Gaza City Operation
Foreign ministers from Italy, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement opposing Israel’s plan, warning it would “exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of hostages, and increase the risk of a mass exodus of civilians.”
Russia also denounced the decision, cautioning that it “risks worsening the already dramatic situation in the Palestinian enclave, which shows all the signs of a humanitarian disaster.”
Human Cost Continues to Rise
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that at least 37 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday, including 30 civilians waiting to collect humanitarian aid. According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians figures the United Nations considers credible. The war began after Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, which left 1,219 people dead, according to an AFP count based on official data.
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