Mass protests have erupted across Israel after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza. Protesters are calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas and allow the remaining hostages to return home. The massive demonstrations, which began late Sunday and continued into Tuesday, are reportedly the largest in the 11 months since the conflict began.
The protests come amid growing discontent over Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza attacks and his refusal to agree a ceasefire. A majority of Israelis support an agreement that would end hostilities and guarantee the release of hostages, as reflected in recent polls, according to the Associated Press. But Netanyahu has stuck to his “total victory” strategy against Hamas, a stance that continues to enjoy strong support from some segments of the population.
protest
Organizers estimated that 300,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv, with another 200,000 taking part in protests across the country, The Times of Israel reported. Cloud Solutions put the number of protesters in Tel Aviv at about 280,000.
The protests were sparked by news that the bodies of six Israeli hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg Pollin, had been found in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Time reported.
The details of their deaths shocked the country: all six were killed just hours before their bodies were discovered by Israeli troops, who said they all had multiple gunshot wounds to the head in apparent executions.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside Netanyahu's private residence late Monday, chanting “a deal now,” according to the Associated Press, which reported that families of the slain hostages have criticized Netanyahu, saying a deal with Hamas would have saved their loved ones.
The protest's organizers, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing, an organisation founded by families of Israelis abducted by Hamas during the October 7 Israeli attack, called on people to “bring the state to a halt” by “fighting with them for an agreement to bring all hostages home.”
Haaretz, one of Israel's oldest and most influential dailies and known for its critical, in-depth reporting, has supported the protests, arguing that “the people must speak to their government in the only language it understands – force.”
The media also accused the Israeli government of making a “deliberate decision to sacrifice the lives of the hostages,” while calling on Israelis to evaluate “Israel's self-image and the country's values ​​​​over human life.”
general strike
To increase pressure on Netanyahu's government, Israel's largest labor union, the Histadrut, called a general strike for Sunday that was expected to disrupt key sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the operation of Ben-Gurion Airport, the country's main airport.
“The (hostage) deal is of utmost importance,” union president Arnon Bar David said, according to the Times of Israel.
The report continues:
“We cannot remain silent while children scream and cry out in the Gaza tunnels. This is unacceptable,” he declared after meeting with representatives of the Forum of Hostages and Missing Families, which earlier on Sunday called on citizens to “join mass demonstrations calling for a total shutdown of the country” and for mass strikes against the powerful Histadrut.
“Israel's social, financial and municipal leaders represent the demands of their people. Complete the deal now!” the forum posted.
The Israel Business Forum, a prominent organization representing the leaders of 200 of Israel's largest companies across a wide range of industries, including banking, insurance, technology, retail and energy, announced its support for the families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza and called on the public to join in the call to action.
The Times of Israel reported that the strike was supported by several municipalities, teachers' unions and medical groups such as the White Coats, but many other groups and local authorities denounced the strike as “playing into Hamas's hands.”
Hamas
Hamas blames Israel and the United States for the hostages' deaths and accuses them of continually imposing new conditions for a deal, including that Israel maintain control of the Philadelphia Corridor, a narrow buffer zone along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.
“The six hostages, along with the others, could have been reunited with their families through a genuine exchange agreement while they were still alive, but the intransigence of the occupying forces, Netanyahu and his extremist government is what cost these people their lives,” Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas' politburo, said, according to the BBC.
Another official, Izzat al-Rishq, quoted by The Associated Press, added that “if Israel had accepted the US-backed ceasefire proposal that Hamas said it had agreed to in July, the hostages would still be alive.”
Netanyahu
In an address to the nation on Sunday, Netanyahu vowed that Hamas leaders would “pay a price” for the killing of the hostages.
“Whoever kills the hostages does not want a deal,” he added, accusing Hamas of “categorically rejecting all proposals.” Netanyahu also said Israel was facing a “brutal enemy that wants to kill us all.”
In the latest talks, Netanyahu has focused on control of the Philadelphia corridor, which he argues is essential to preventing Hamas from rearming through smuggling tunnels that he calls “oxygen for Hamas.”
According to an Associated Press report:
On Monday, Netanyahu said he was ready to implement the first phase of a ceasefire, which would include the partial release of hostages, a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of some prisoners held by Israel, but rejected a full withdrawal from Gaza, saying no other power could control the Gaza border.
However, Netanyahu's assertions in this regard have faced significant criticism. Many argue that Netanyahu's focus on the corridor, rather than prioritizing the safe return of the hostages, ignores urgent humanitarian needs and undermines the possibility of a diplomatic solution. Critics also point out that Egypt and Hamas deny the existence of such smuggling operations, casting doubt on Netanyahu's justification for continuing military action.
Dehumanizing Palestinians?
As the world mourned the killing of the Israeli hostages, some journalists focused on the broader context of this bloody conflict. They stressed that while these deaths are undoubtedly tragic, they are not the only victims, and noted that Israel continues to hold and abuse thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Independent journalist Caitlin Johnston and others urged Western audiences to reject a worldview that dehumanizes Palestinians and called for greater empathy and understanding for all victims of the conflict.
“Western government officials have made it clear that they do not see Palestinians as human beings in the same way that they see Israelis as human beings, nor does the mass media propaganda machine, which has covered the deaths of hostages with unprecedented fervor given the routine massacres of civilians by the IDF in Gaza,” she writes.
According to B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, as of June 2024, the Israeli Prisons Service (IPS) was detaining 9,440 Palestinians, including 1,761 from the Gaza Strip.
By mid-August, more than 40,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its operation against Hamas following the October 7 attacks, according to the Gaza Strip Health Ministry, a figure acknowledged by Israeli intelligence as “broadly accurate.”
