Tens of thousands of angry protesters took to streets in Tel Aviv on Sunday night (September 1) demanding ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza war and made demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government after six more Israeli hostages in Hamas' custody died. the protesters are demanding a ceasefire so that the return of hostages can be facilitated. Netanyahu has previously said that Israeli military operation in Gaza would not stop until Hamas frees all hostages but Hamas has doubled down on its demand for a ceasefire before negotiations for release of hostages.
On Sunday night, the protesters chanted "Now! Now!" as they demanded that the prime minister reach a ceasefire deal. Angry protesters even clashed with security forces. This was one of the largest anti-government protest since the outbreak of Gaza war.
Al Jazeera reported that protesters blocked roads in Tel Aviv and that there also were demonstrations outside Netanyahu's office in West Jerusalem.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which is a representative body of the families of the captives, said that the hostages are dying because Netanyahu's failure to secure a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
"They were all murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture, and starvation in Hamas captivity," the forum said.
Relatives angry
There is visible anger among the relatives of the dead captives. Gil Dickman, cousin of a dead captive whose body was returned, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and urged Israelis to pressure the government for a ceasefire.
"Take to the streets and shut down the country until everyone returns. They can still be saved," says the translation of his post made in Hebrew language.
On October 7 last year, Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel in which an estimated 1139 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. Israel responded with overwhelming military action in Gaza Strip. The war has killed more than 40,000 people so far and nearly 1,00,000 have been injured.
