₦airaland Forum

As protests peak, hundreds of thousands fill Tel Aviv's Hostage Square demanding to end Gaza War

Dozens of riot police officers violently removed hostage deal protesters from outside the Likud headquarters in central Tel Aviv, and at least two demonstrators were arrested.

Hundreds of protesters remain at the site and were forcibly removed to an adjacent boulevard. A police commander commanded officers, saying in a megaphone, "I want arrests, bring me detainees."

Earlier, protesters en route to the headquarters clashed with police, who tried to block the road with trucks.

statement only proves how much the protests scare him."

■ The organizers of the central protests calling for a cease-fire and hostage deal have estimated that over 2.5 million Israelis have participated in demonstrations across the country on Sunday. According to the organizers, 300,000 people attended the evening's rally in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, marking it as by far the largest protest since the demonstrations following the murder of six hostages in captivity last year.

■ Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, shared a video of her son from Hamas captivity. The footage, dated January 2024, was recently recovered by the IDF in Gaza.

■ Protesters blocked several key roads, including Tel Aviv's central Ayalon Highway, the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and the road leading to the defense headquarters in Tel Aviv. On some roads, demonstrators burned tires. Over 30 protesters have been arrested so far, with police using force in many instances. In Jerusalem, officers used a water cannon to disperse demonstrators.

■ During the afternoon, as thousands were protesting in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, a missile launched from Yemen triggered a siren leading the protesters to seek shelter. The IDF said the missile was intercepted.

■ A truck attempted to ram into a group of protesters from the Gaza border community of Nir Oz in central Tel Aviv, while in central Israel's Ra'anana junction, protesters said they were assaulted by a truck driver.


■ Many released hostages, including Ilana Gritzewsky, Arbel Yehoud, Sharon Cunio, and Yarden Bibas, joined the protesters. Protesters staged a wedding ceremony between Gritzewsky and her boyfriend, hostage Matan Zangauker. "This day of strike is important, but it cannot be just one day," Arbel Yehoud said. "We have to disrupt again and again until those in captivity come back."

■ Dozens demonstrated in front of the homes of several ministers, including Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Science Minister Gila Gamliel.

■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with several ministers, accused protesters of harming the chances of returning the hostages and guaranteeing "that the horrors of October 7 will return." Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan by saying, "Netanyahu's toxic and detached statement only proves how much the protests scare him."

■ The IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, said during a tour of the Gaza Strip that they "are approving the next stage of the war." Hamas said that Israel's Gaza transfer plan constitutes a "new wave of genocide and displacement" for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area.

■ Dozens of Jewish and Israeli-Americans rallied at the White House in solidarity with families of the hostages, calling for a cease-fire hostage deal, the end of the war in Gaza and an end to the starvation in the territory.

SeverusSnape:
Hamas never see anything yet. You price, you pay.

For the war to end, Hamas has to release the remaining hostages, shikena!

FreeStuffsNG:
Smh. Hamas has gotten PM Netanyahu exactly where they want him. He has lost the war.

Except he eats the humble pie, the hostages may not make it alive and he can never be safe in Israel.

His gamble was extreme! Even Trump will dump him.

The internal war and division inside Isreal is even a bigger ticking time bomb.

FreeStuffsNG:
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-17/ty-article/.premium/hundreds-of-thousands-of-israelis-flood-tel-aviv-demanding-a-hostage-deal-to-end-gaza-war/00000198-b8c9-d15a-a3bd-bfc984e80000

ALLNIGERIANSMAD:
How will the war end when terrorists still holding hostages. The war will never end. It's in the hands of Hamas to end the war even yesterday

Softmirror:
You mean the Israeli government have not been able to free these hostages for this long?! So what is all the boasting about Israel. What a shame!

HacheNoire:
It’s too late already.

The reputation of Israel has been tarnished beyond repair.

If you ever want to be lynched anywhere, just identify as pro-Israeli supporter and see how bad it can get.


The Oscar winning movie- No Othet Land, has really exposed many to the ills and evils of the apartheid state.

FreeStuffsNG:
In spite of this massive protests, polls still suggests that most Isrealis don't see anything wrong with the occupation and only want the war to end just to get the hostages freed.

There's no way Isreal can be free when Palestinians are under occupation and genocidal war.

pdppower:
Israelis themselves want the war to end, but Nairaland Israel supporters don't see anything wrong in the war.

brain54:
Even Israelis are beginning to see the genocide being committed by their government...


Netayahu should just resign!