Thousands in Israel protest Netanyahu Gaza plan, call for release of hostages

Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, on Saturday night to call for the release of the remaining hostages and object to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to expand military control of the Gaza Strip, which escalates the war.

In Tel Aviv, an estimated 100,000 people marched to demand an immediate end to the military campaign in Gaza and plans to escalate the conflict, according to multiple reports.

In Jerusalem, protesters marched toward Netanyahu’s residence to voice their disapproval of his newly announced decision, which was approved in a security Cabinet vote last week, multiple news outlets reported. The protesters come even as international allies speak out against the operation. 

Critics of Netanyahu’s plan, including family and friends of hostages, say the decision puts their loved ones at greater risk.

“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 in Tel Aviv, according to The Guardian. She also pleaded with President Trump to intervene, though he’s refrained from criticizing Israel’s plans, giving Netanyahu a tacit green light.

(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Some former members of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) were also seen protesting Netanyahu’s decision.

“We’re over 350 soldiers who served during the war and were refusing to continue to serve in Netanyahu’s political war,” former soldier Max Kresch told BBC News while holding a sign that reads “I refused.”

The protests stemmed from Netanyahu’s latest move to escalate the Israeli takeover of Gaza, which has received international pushback from the United Kingdom, France, Canada and, most recently, Germany, which announced it would halt military exports to Israel that can be used in the Gaza Strip.

“We are not going to occupy Gaza – we are going to free Gaza from Hamas,” Netanyahu said in a statement Friday on the social platform X in response to Germany’s decision.

“Gaza will be demilitarized, and a peaceful civilian administration will be established, one that is not the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, and not any other terrorist organization. This will help free our hostages and ensure Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.”

Last week, the Israeli leader said the takeover of Gaza is intended to “assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel.”