Hundreds of thousands Israelis take to streets demanding immediate hostage deal in largest war protests

After the recovery of the bodies of six Israeli hostages and the announcement that they had been recently executed by Hamas, thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Israel on Sunday evening demanding an immediate hostage release deal. 

As in past demonstrations, the largest crowds gathered in Tel Aviv at Hostages Square near the Kirya military headquarters, before spilling out onto other streets. 

Protesters carried Israeli flags, yellow ribbons in honor of the hostages, and signs demanding a hostage deal and apologizing to the deceased hostages.

During the demonstration, the protesters chanted, "Bring everyone back – and now.” Many also held signs accusing the government of abandoning the hostages, such as, “Bibi [Netanyahu] is a murderer” or “Stop the abandonment.” 

After the main protest event in Hostages Square, several thousand demonstrators moved to the Ayalon Highway, where they blocked traffic, lit bonfires and set off fireworks.

Protest organizers claimed that around 700,000 participated in demonstrations across the country on Sunday, with around 500,000 gathering in Tel Aviv. According to estimates by Crowd Solutions, as of 8:30 p.m., there was a crowd of approximately 280,000 in Tel Aviv's Democracy Square and Hostages Square, with more protesters joining later in the night. 

This event marks the largest demonstration since the onset of the war in Gaza, matching the size of some of the largest rallies held during the 2023 judicial reform protests.

The Israel Police did not provide an estimate of the crowd sizes. 

Large crowds also gathered at the Chords Bridge in Jerusalem and outside of the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

At the same time, in an attempt to increase pressure on the government, Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David declared a general strike for Monday to push the government to agree to a hostage deal. 

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized the call for a general strike as a political maneuver. He requested that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara declare the strike illegal and take steps to prevent it.

On Monday morning, the Attorney General's office submitted an urgent request to the Labor Court to prevent the strike, stating: “The sudden strike declared by Arnon Bar-David is not a labor dispute strike, and as such is a political strike.” 

Hostage families from the hawkish Tikvah Forum also protested the call for a general strike, calling it “a prize to the Hamas terrorist organization.”

Their statement was echoed by Iris Chaim, mother of former hostage Yotam Chaim, who was mistakenly killed by Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in December.

In a Facebook post, she wrote, “Shut down my country? Give Sinwar power? Who does it help?” Only unity in the country will bring the hostages back, she added.

The Israel Police announced early Monday morning that 29 protesters were arrested during the Tel Aviv demonstrations on Sunday night. The detainees had "broken the peace, assaulted police officers and rioted with vandalism and brutality on the Ayalon Highway and the demonstration compound at Azrieli Junction,” the police said in a statement. 

“Hundreds of demonstrators who arrived at the Ayalon Highway did not obey the policemen's orders, pushed against the barricades with violence and great force, and during the clashes a policewoman who was injured, lost consciousness, and was evacuated to hospital for treatment,” the statement read.

“A police officer declared a forbidden gathering and police forces acted to prevent the disturbance, but the lawbreakers broke through the security circles, blocked the Ayalon Highway and lit bonfires, firing fireworks that almost hit the policemen.” 

Knesset Member Naama Lazimi of the newly-formed party – The Democrats – was hit by a stun grenade during police attempts to clear the protesters from Ayalon Highway. She claimed that no warning was given and that most protesters had already begun to clear the area.

Lazimi blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police, for the police violence.

“A police force that throws stun grenades at demonstrators from close up and without supervision is a police force that endangers public safety and harms public health deliberately and illegally.” 

After the massive protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the Hamas terrorist organization released a statement on Al Jazeera hardening its position. Khalil al-Hayya, a senior figure in the Hamas political wing, told the Qatari TV network that "without the Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi route, the Netzarim corridor and the Rafah crossing, there will be no agreement.”