Protests broke out across Israel on Sunday, as demonstrators called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the country’s military operation in Gaza and return the remaining hostages being held by Hamas. Organizers said “hundreds of thousands” of people joined the protests, buoyed by “thousands” of businesses that also went on strike or allowed their employees to participate.
Organizers say Netanyahu’s ‘deceiving the public’
Netanyahu was largely the focus of protesters’ ire on Sunday, as organizers accused the Israeli leader of “deceiving the public” and repeatedly scuttling opportunities to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
“Netanyahu, for 22 months the hostages are languishing in Gaza — on your watch,” the Hostages Families Forum said in a statement. “Instead of deceiving the public, disseminating spin and slandering the families of hostages, bring our loved ones back in a deal and end the war.”
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Hamas has, at various times, entered into negotiations with mediators in Egypt and Qatar. Netanyahu rejected the group’s amendments to potential agreements, arguing that anything short of complete demilitarization is unacceptable.
“We insist not only that Hamas be disarmed, but also that Israel enforce the demilitarization of the Strip over time through continuous action against any attempt at rearmament or organization by any terror group,” Netanyahu said.
The forum responded, “today everyone in Israel already knows that there were many opportunities to bring the hostages back. The one who torpedoed, rejected and avoided [a deal] is the one who raised the price.”
A previous ceasefire broke down in March after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes into Gaza, killing more than 320 people.
‘Military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back’
The Hostages Families Forum and the October Council, the group behind Sunday’s actions, also argue that the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) decision to expand its takeover of Gaza is a direct threat to the 50 hostages still in Hamas’ captivity. Roughly 20 of those hostages are believed to be alive.
“I know firsthand what it’s like to be in captivity. I know that military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back — it only kills them,” Arbel Yehoud, a former hostage, said during a demonstration in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Sunday. “The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”
Sunday’s protests, which resulted in more than 30 arrests and the use of water cannons on demonstrators blocking roads, mark the second mass demonstration against Netanyahu this month. On Aug. 9, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets when the Israeli cabinet first announced its intentions to take over Gaza.
Will the protests be successful?
Straight Arrow News spoke to an expert on the conflict. Atalia Omer is a professor of religion, conflict, and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs.
“Netanyahu has strengthened his position over time since Oct. 7, 2023, despite the opposition, the corruption, the prolonged war/genocide, and the loss of favorability of Israel globally,” Omer said. “Despite the protests, he has a firm support from among the coalition of forces in Israeli society and political sectors.”
Israel’s war in Gaza began after Hamas launched a surprise attack in the country on Oct. 7, 2023. The militant group killed roughly 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage.
Netanyahu maintains that Israel is not committing a genocide in Gaza and disputes widespread reports of mass starvation. Members of the international community, U.S. government and Israeli-based human rights groups reject the claims.
“An examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads us to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli-based human rights group, B’Tselem, wrote in a July report.
Omer said that while there is “a growing awareness of the starvation campaign in Gaza” and a “recognition that the continuous military assault on Gaza will result in sacrificing the remaining hostages,” the cause is more focused on the war’s impact on Jewish Israelis, and less on the totality of the 22-month war.
“There is no breaking point in terms of recognition of the life of Palestinians and what they have endured for almost two years,” Omer said. “The protests are mainly focused on the Jewish public, which makes it limited as a protest movement.”
There are signs that Israelis are showing increased solidarity with Palestinians. According to The Associated Press, a photo of an emaciated Palestinian child from Gaza was seen during a protest Sunday. The outlet notes that images of Palestinian suffering “were once rare at Israeli demonstrations,” but that they are becoming more common since reports broke of widespread famine and increasing numbers of malnutrition-related deaths.
Keeping up the pressure
Yehoud, the hostage who was freed in January as part of an initial ceasefire agreement, said Sunday that protests need to continue to happen until an end to the war is reached.
“We need to stop normal life again and again until those in captivity return,” Yehoud said. “You’ve seen the photos, the videos, the horrors. How much longer will you continue to close your eyes? There is only one way to bring them all back: a deal now.”
