Protesters claim the Jerusalem rally is the largest anti-government protest since Israel began its war in Gaza in October.
Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the Israeli parliament building in Jerusalem in the largest anti-government protest since Israel began its assault on Gaza.
Protesters on Sunday called on the government to secure a ceasefire agreement that also includes the release of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and called for early elections.
Demonstrators claimed the Jerusalem protests were the largest since Israel began its war in Gaza in October.
Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has faced widespread criticism over security failures in the Gaza Strip, where an Oct. 7 Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel killed 1,139 people and took about 250 hostages. exposed to criticism. According to the Palestinian Authority, at least 32,782 people have been killed in Israel's war in Gaza, most of them women and children.
A ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in November, with the release of more than 100 hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
New talks on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange are scheduled to begin in Cairo on Sunday, but Hamas said it had not yet decided whether to send a delegation.
Mediators had hoped to secure a ceasefire before the start of Ramadan, but progress has stalled and the Islamic holy month is more than halfway over.
“After six months, the government seems to understand that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is a nuisance,” protester Einav Moses, whose father-in-law Gadi Moses is detained, told The Associated Press. Told. “It seems like he has no intention of bringing them back and they have failed in this mission.”
Crowds gathered for several blocks around parliament, and organizers vowed to continue demonstrating for several days.
Al Jazeera's Hamda Sarhat reported from a demonstration in West Jerusalem that demonstrators said they planned to sleep in tents in the city to carry out their protests.
“They say they want to oust Prime Minister Netanyahu. They say they are fed up with his policies, which have not even seen the return of the remaining Israeli prisoners held in Gaza,” Sarhat said. said.
Demonstrators also called for new elections, almost two years ahead of schedule.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid harshly criticized Netanyahu at the demonstration, saying he was destroying relations between Israel and the United States and leaving prisoners to their fate.
Mr Lapid said the prime minister was “all about politics and doing nothing for the country”.
Thousands of others also demonstrated in Tel Aviv, Israel's largest city.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a nationally televised address ahead of his hernia surgery that he understood the pain of his family.
He said holding new elections would paralyze Israel for six to eight months.
Netanyahu also reiterated his vow for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people have fled fighting elsewhere.
“There is no victory unless we enter Rafah,” he said, adding that he would not be deterred by US pressure.