More than 15,000 people have taken to the streets in Israel to call for an end to the war in Gaza and urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal to free the remaining hostages.
Families and supporters of the hostages still being held by Hamas thronged Jerusalem’s Paris Square, with others gathering in Tel Aviv.
Of the 48 hostages still being held in Gaza, as many as 20 are believed to be alive.
Israel has yet to formally respond to a deal that would see the release of some hostages, but has previously demanded the return of all the hostages in any agreement.
Netanyahu insists total victory over Hamas will bring the hostages home.
Hamas took 251 hostages back to Gaza after its attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which some 1,200 people died.
Israel launched a massive retaliation campaign to destroy Hamas which has resulted in the death of at least 64,368 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable, although Israel disputes them. Voices of protest on Israeli streets and international demands from some of its allies to stop the military offensive in Gaza have been growing steadily.
Yet all the signs are that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are preparing to intensify the war, as the Netanyahu government vows to gain full control of the Gaza Strip and finally defeat Hamas.
On Saturday night, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem saw some of the biggest protests in recent months calling for the release of remaining hostages and an end to the war.
Within earshot of Netanyahu’s residence in the city, speaker after speaker called for him to strike a deal with Hamas that would see the safe return of their loved ones, almost two years after their abduction.
Among the many family members with angry messages for Netanyahu was the mother of Matan Angrest, an IDF soldier being held in Gaza.
“This is not a threat, Mr Prime Minister. If something happens, you will pay for it -this is a mother’s word,” shouted Anat Angrest, the Times of Israel reported.
Many protesters say the expansion of the war will further endanger the hostages’ lives.
If Netanyahu was in his nearby Jerusalem home, the appeals from parents and supporters appear to be falling on deaf ears.
Israel’s beleaguered but resolute prime minister has shown no sign of ending the war, even though many former military leaders have repeatedly said the IDF has probably achieved as much as it can militarily in Gaza, without further endangering the lives of hostages and exacerbating the desperate humanitarian crisis there.
That is a view, reportedly, also held by many serving army generals but they are now being asked by their government to prepare for a huge land incursion to overrun Gaza City and the rest of the war-damaged Palestinian enclave.
Netanyahu’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly taken to social media in recent days, posting videos of high-rise buildings in Gaza City being blown-up with the blunt message that this was just the start.
Israel justifies the destruction of Gaza’s most prominent buildings saying they are used by Hamas as “command and control centres”.
That was continued on Sunday, when the IDF issued an evacuation order before destroying a third high-rise building in as many days in Gaza City. Israel accused Hamas of setting up “intelligence-gathering equipment” in the tower.
Previously, Hamas has denied using high-rise buildings, where Palestinians say displaced people were sheltering.