Israelis stage largest protest since war began to pressure Netanyahu

By Melanie Lindman, Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in central Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government demonstration since the country entered the war in October. Protesters urged the government to reach a ceasefire deal to free dozens of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants and to hold early elections.

Israeli society was largely united immediately after October 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people in a cross-border attack and took another 250 hostage. Nearly six months of conflict have reignited divisions over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, even though the country remains largely pro-war.

Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages home, but those goals remain elusive. Although Hamas suffered heavy losses, it remains intact.

About half of Gaza’s hostages were freed during a week-long ceasefire in November. But attempts by international mediators to repatriate the remaining hostages have failed. Talks resumed on Sunday with no sign that a breakthrough was imminent.

The hostages’ families say time is running out and are increasingly expressing their discontent with Netanyahu.

“We believe that no hostage will return with this government because it is busy putting obstacles in the way of hostage negotiations,” said Boaz Atzili, whose cousin Aviv Atlizi and his wife Liat were kidnapped on October 7. Liat was released but Aviv was killed and his body is in Gaza. “Netanyahu only works in his private interest. »

Protesters blame Netanyahu for the Oct. 7 failures and say deep political divisions sparked by his attempt at judicial reform last year weakened Israel before the attack. Some accuse him of damaging relations with the United States, Israel’s main ally.

Netanyahu also faces a litany of corruption charges that are slowly progressing through the courts, and critics say his decisions appear to be focused on political survival rather than the national interest. Opinion polls show that Netanyahu and his coalition are far behind their rivals if elections were held today.

Unless his governing coalition collapses sooner, Netanyahu will not contest elections until spring 2026.

Many hostage families have refrained from publicly denouncing Netanyahu to avoid antagonizing the leadership and making the fate of the hostages a political issue. But as their anger grows, some now want to change course – and they played a major role in Sunday’s anti-government protest.

On Sunday, crowds spread for blocks around the Knesset, or parliament building, and organizers vowed to continue the protest for several days. They urged the government to hold new elections almost two years ahead of schedule. Thousands of people also demonstrated on Sunday in Tel Aviv, where a large demonstration had taken place the day before.

Netanyahu, in a nationally televised address before undergoing hernia surgery later Sunday, said he understood the families’ pain. But he said calling new elections – in what he described as a moment before victory – would paralyze Israel for six to eight months and block hostage talks. For now, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears to remain firmly intact.

Some hostage families agree that now is not the time for elections.

“I don’t think changing the prime minister now is what will make progress and help my son come home,” Sheli Shem Tov, whose son Omer was kidnapped at a music festival, said on the Israeli Channel 12. “It will only sideline the most burning issue, which is the return of the hostages home.”

In his speech on Sunday, Netanyahu also reiterated his commitment to a ground military offensive in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than half of the territory’s 2.3 million residents have now taken refuge after fled the fighting elsewhere. “There is no victory without going to Rafah,” he said, adding that American pressure would not deter him. The Israeli army says Hamas battalions remain there.

In another reminder of Israel’s divisions, a group of reservists and retired officers demonstrated in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood.

For generations, ultra-Orthodox men have enjoyed exemptions from military service, which is mandatory for most Jewish men and women. Resentment over this deepened during the war. Netanyahu’s government has been ordered to present a new, fairer bill by Monday.

Netanyahu, who relies heavily on support from ultra-Orthodox parties, last week requested an extension.

The Bank of Israel said in its annual report on Sunday that there could be economic damage if large numbers of ultra-Orthodox men continue not to serve in the Israeli army.

Also on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent camp in the courtyard of a crowded hospital in central Gaza, killing two Palestinians and wounding 15 others, including journalists working nearby.

An Associated Press journalist filmed the strike and its aftermath at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where thousands of people took shelter. The Israeli military said it struck a command center of the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Tens of thousands of people have taken refuge in Gaza’s hospitals, considering them relatively safe from airstrikes. Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of operating in and around medical facilities, something Gaza health officials deny.

Israeli troops have been attacking Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, for almost two weeks and claim to have killed numerous fighters, including Hamas officials. Gaza’s health ministry said more than 100 patients remain without clean water and suffer from septic wounds, while doctors use plastic bags as gloves.

Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of members of Gaza’s small Palestinian Christian community gathered at the Church of the Holy Family to celebrate Easter, incense wafting in this rare building that seemed untouched by the war.

“We are here with sadness,” said attendee Winnie Tarazi. Around 600 people are sheltering in the compound.

The United Nations and its partners warn that famine could occur in devastated and largely isolated northern Gaza. Humanitarian officials say deliveries by sea and air are not enough and that Israel needs to allow much more aid by road. Egypt said thousands of trucks were waiting.

Israel says it imposes no limits on humanitarian aid deliveries. He criticized the UN and other international agencies for not distributing more aid.

Gaza’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 32,782 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. The ministry’s tally does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it indicates that women and children account for about two-thirds of those killed.

Israel says more than a third of the deaths are militants, although it does not provide evidence, and accuses Hamas of being responsible for civilian casualties because the group operates in residential areas.

Amid concerns about a wider conflict in the region, Lebanese state media reported that an Israeli drone hit a car in the southern Lebanese town of Konin.