Thousands protest in Tel Aviv to demand hostage deal

 Thousands of protesters marched through Tel Aviv on Tuesday, demanding the Israeli government strike a deal to return the hostages and end the war in Gaza.

According to organisers, an estimated 350,000 people massed on some of Tel Aviv’s busiest streets and blocked several motorways, the Times of Israel reported.

Photos showed demonstrators carrying signs that read “the government is killing the hostages”, heaping pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire and secure the return of the 49 remaining captives held in Gaza, only 22 of whom are believed to be alive.

One person held up a clock tallying the length of the war: 689 days and counting.

The marches started at dawn and, as more protesters trickled in throughout the day, the scope of the demonstration grew, with crowds in front of the homes and offices of government ministers.

As the sun set over the city on Tuesday night, thousands more gathered in Hostages Square and near the US embassy.

The latter location was highly symbolic – in the absence of significant pressure from the US to reach a ceasefire, Mr Netanyahu has reiterated his government’s intention to continue to pursue Hamas and has approved a military occupation of Gaza City.

Donald Trump is set to host a meeting on Wednesday about humanitarian aid and post-war plans for Gaza, his envoy Steve Witkoff said. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, will meet Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, in Washington.

In Tel Aviv, relatives of the hostages addressed the crowd, including Noam Peri, whose father Haim was abducted on Oct 7 2023 and murdered by Hamas.

Ms Peri had a message for Mr Trump: “For my father, it is too late, but you can still save the other hostages and be remembered as the president who made history.”

Mr Netanyahu’s vague pronouncements on the direction of the war have given fuel to a growing coalition opposed to his handling of the conflict, and to the claim that he is ignoring the plight of the hostages.

Mr Netanyahu last week ordered talks to secure the release of the hostages, but his government has not yet given its response to a proposal – which was accepted by Hamas – that would see the release of captives over a 60-day period in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

A meeting of his security cabinet convened to discuss the deal was inconclusive, and protesters, including relatives of the hostages, demanded that the Israeli leader accept the deal.

I don’t want to receive my boy in a bag,” said Ofir Braslavski, the father of hostage Rom Braslavski, who appeared emaciated in a video taken by the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Waving Israeli flags, blowing whistles and holding up pictures of the hostages, the crowd demanded accountability and for Mr Trump to “seal the big deal”.

“The government is failing us, we won’t give up until every hostage is home,” they shouted.

It was the second large-scale protest in two weeks organised by the powerful Hostages and Missing Families Forum: last week over a million people gathered nationwide, including around 500,000 in Tel Aviv, according to the group.

The hostage families have been a key part of the ongoing demonstrations, and earlier on Tuesday slammed the Israeli prime minister for failing to prioritise a hostage deal.

Mr Netanyahu “believes it is OK and it is a valid alternative to sacrifice 50 hostages for political needs”, said Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was abducted and killed during the Oct 7 attacks.

During an event following the cabinet meeting, Mr Netanyahu said: “It started in Gaza, and it will end in Gaza. We will not leave those monsters there.”

The protests come as the conflict has grown increasingly deadly for Palestinians.

The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification declared a famine in Gaza City last week, calling the widespread starvation “entirely man-made”.

On Monday, an Israeli double-tap strike on a Gaza hospital killed at least 20 people, including five journalists. At least 62,819 Palestinians have died during the war, most of them civilians.