Israeli protesters push for Gaza truce
Israeli protesters chanting “we will not give up” marched through Tel Aviv on Sunday, the second consecutive day of demonstrations in a stepped-up push for a deal to free captives in Gaza. A nationwide “disruption day” began at 6:29 am, corresponding to the start of October 7 attack on southern Israel that set off the war.
After nine months of fighting, Israel says 116 captives are still held by Palestinian groups in Gaza, including 42 the military says are dead.
“Enough is enough,” said Orly Nativ, a 57-year-old social worker from Tel Aviv who joined the hundreds of flag-wielding demonstrators. They stopped traffic at an intersection in Tel Aviv, calling for the government to secure a deal to free the captives still held in Gaza. “The government doesn’t care what the people think, and they don’t do anything to bring back our sisters and brothers from Gaza and take care of us and take care of what happened after October 7th,” Nativ said.
Another demonstrator, Yoni Peleg, called it “a last cry out for help from the entire country to help us end the war, help us get our people.”
Police stepped up security around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence before a planned rally there.
The night before, thousands of anti-government demonstrators blocked a highway in Tel Aviv. Some clashed with police on horseback before officers deployed water canon to force people from the road.
Protest organisers estimated around 176,000 people had by 9:00 pm filled a Tel Aviv intersection which they call “Democracy Square”. That would make it one of the biggest demonstrations since the war began.
Large protests, also demanding elections, have taken place across the Israeli city every Saturday night, with smaller ones throughout the country to put pressure on Netanyahu’s government to bring the hostages home.
The protests come as indirect truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas have regained momentum after months of failed diplomacy.
Netanyahu has consistently opposed any deal that allows Palestinian groups to survive. But pressure is mounting as families tire of arguing their loved ones’ lives are worth more than declaring victory over Hamas.—