TEL AVIV:
Tens of thousands of protesters waving Israeli flags and chanting slogans against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding new elections and the return of hostages held in Gaza.
Large protests have taken place in the Israeli city on a weekly basis over Netanyahu’s handling of the nearly nine-month war in Gaza that began with the October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel.
Many protesters held signs reading “Crime Minister” and “Stop the War” as people poured into the main street of Israel’s largest city.
“I’m here because I fear for my grandson’s future. There will be no future for them if we don’t get out and get rid of the horrible government,” said 66-year-old contractor Shai Erel.
“All the rats in the Knesset… I wouldn’t let any of them be the janitor of a kindergarten.”
The anti-government protest group Hofshi Israel estimated that more than 150,000 people attended the rally, calling it the largest since the start of the war in Gaza.
Some protesters lay on the ground covered in red paint in the city’s Democracy Square to protest the death of the country’s democracy under Netanyahu.
In a speech to the crowd, a former head of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency, Yuval Diskin, condemned Netanyahu as “Israel’s worst prime minister.”
Many are disillusioned with the country’s right-wing coalition, which includes Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other far-right ultranationalists, accusing him of prolonging the war in Gaza and endangering the country’s security and hostages.
Yoram, a 50-year-old tour guide who declined to give his last name, said he participated in every weekly demonstration because Israel needed elections “yesterday” because of Netanyahu.
“I really hope the government collapses,” he said. “If we go to the original election date of 2026, it’s not going to be a democratic election.”
Hamas militants took 251 hostages on October 7, of whom Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 the military says are dead.
A separate rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening drew thousands of relatives and supporters of the hostages.
The attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory attack on Gaza has killed at least 37,551 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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