Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli govt move to expand Gaza war
Demonstrators waved signs and held up pictures of hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory as they called on the government to secure their release.
Authorities did not provide an official estimate for the size of the crowd, though it dwarfed other recent anti-war rallies.
"We will end with a direct message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: if you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place," Shahar Mor Zahiro, the relative of a slain hostage, said.
On Friday, Mr Netanyahu's security cabinet greenlighted plans for a major operation to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of domestic and international criticism.
Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated ceasefire to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from senior Israeli military officers, Mr Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision.
In a post on social media late on Friday, he said "we are not going to occupy Gaza -- we are going to free Gaza from Hamas".
He has faced regular protests over the course of 22 months of war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a deal after past truces saw hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) criticised Israel's plan to expand its operations in Gaza.
According to a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, President Mahmud Abbas said the plan "constitutes a new crime", and stressed "the urgent need to take action to stop it immediately".
He also emphasised "the importance of enabling the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip".
In the same meeting that approved the Gaza City plan, the security cabinet adopted a set of principles for ending the war in Gaza that included establishing a new "administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority".
The PA, conceived as a first step towards a Palestinian state, exercises limited administration over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but does not have a presence in Hamas-run Gaza.
A statement issued yesterday by the foreign ministers of the UK, Italy, Australia, Germany, New Zealand again criticised the decision to occupy Gaza City.
"This will exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of hostages, and increase the risk of a mass exodus of civilians," they said.
Russia also condemned the Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City in a statement.
Implementing such plans "risks worsening the already dramatic situation in the Palestinian enclave, which shows all the signs of a humanitarian disaster", said a foreign ministry statement.
Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 37 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory yesterday, including 30 civilians who were waiting to collect aid.
Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.
Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel - which triggered the war - resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
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13 minutes ago
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14 minutes ago
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He was speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem and defending a planned military offensive. He asserted that 'our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza'. He said there is a 'fairly short timetable' in mind for next steps in Gaza. The goals there, he said, include demilitarising Gaza, the Israeli military having 'overriding security control' there and a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge. The prime minister also said he had directed Israel's military in recent days to 'bring in more foreign journalists' — which would be a striking development as they have not been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds. Mr Netanyahu again blamed many of Gaza's problems on the Hamas militant group, including civilian deaths, destruction and shortages of aid. Mr Netanyahu is also pushing back against what he calls a 'global campaign of lies' as condemnation of the plan grows both inside and outside Israel. At least 26 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, hospitals and witnesses said, as families of Israeli hostages called for a general strike to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to expand military operations in the territory. Hospital officials said they received bodies from areas where Palestinians were seeking aid, either along food convoy routes or near privately run aid distribution points across Gaza. The dead include 10 who were killed while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor which separates the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, said Nasser hospital. A further six people were killed while waiting for aid in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the Shifa hospital in Gaza City which received the casualties. In central Gaza, witnesses said they first heard warning shots before the fire was aimed toward crowds of aid seekers trying to reach a food distribution site operated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Meanwhile, Ireland has signed a letter with other European countries in strongly condemning Israel's plan to expand the war in Gaza. Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris, is among a number of signatories to the letter, along with his counterparts in Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. The letter states that the countries 'strongly condemn the recent announcement of the intensification of the occupation and the military offensive, including in Gaza city.' 'This decision will only deepen the humanitarian crisis and further endanger the remaining hostages' lives. This operation will lead to an unacceptable high toll of deaths and the forced displacement of nearly one million Palestinian civilians,' it adds. The letter comes just hours after thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages. A day earlier, the prime minister's office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages. The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday. A spokesperson for the Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs released details of the letter today. It continues; 'We firmly reject any demographic or territorial changes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Actions in this regard constitute a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law. 'The intensification of the military offensive and the occupation of Gaza City represents a serious obstacle to the implementation of the two-State solution, which is the only path towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. The Gaza strip must be an integral part of the State of Palestine, along with the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The recognition of both Palestine and Israel is the best security guarantee for both and will ensure stability for the whole region. 'We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire agreement and a permanent end to hostilities, for the immediate release of all hostages at the hands of Hamas and for the rapid, unimpeded and large-scale entry of humanitarian aid. Hamas cannot have a role in the future governance or security arrangements in Gaza, and must be disarmed.' Protests Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages. "This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most," Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war. Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive. Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. "They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country," said Rami Dar, 69-year-old retiree, who travelled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages. Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday's demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organisers. "Frankly, I'm not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success," said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children. "I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference." Around 1,200, mostly Israelis, were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then. Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Trump to take action to stop Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war. A small number of protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military. Israel's military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said on Saturday that at least 39 had been killed in the past day. Some of the prime minister's far-right coalition allies have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza. The military has warned this could endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza. Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of continuing the war, issued a statement on Saturday criticising Netanyahu and called for the annexation of large parts of Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory. The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Tal, a 55-year-old high school teacher, told Reuters at the rally in Tel Aviv that expanding the war was 'terrible,' warning it would result in the deaths of both soldiers and hostages and insisting that the war should end with the military withdrawing. "We don't have anything to do there. It's not ours."
