NEW DELHI: Massive protests took place in Tel Aviv on Saturday, with tens of thousands of demonstrators waving Israeli flags and chanting slogans against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Demonstrators demanded fresh elections and the return of hostages being held in Gaza. The rallies were held in reaction to Netanyahu’s handling of the nearly nine-month-old Gaza war, which began with an October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.
Protesters gathered on a main road in Israel’s largest city, holding signs with messages such as “Minister of Crime” and “Stop the War”.
Shai Elel, a 66-year-old contractor, worried about the future of his grandchildren, saying, “If we don’t go out and oust this awful government, they won’t have a future,” and criticized Knesset members, saying, “All those rats in the Knesset… I won’t let any of them be guards at a kindergarten.”
“For weeks, I refused requests to join the protests. Something deep in my heart told me that it was not the time, that regime change during a war may not be a good idea, that unity is the most important thing,” The Times of Israel quoted former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin as saying.
“But I am astonished every day by the government’s incompetence, its failure to manage the war, its lies about ‘total victory’, its complete evasion of responsibility, its destruction of strategic relations with the United States, and, perhaps above all, its missed opportunities to return our kidnapped compatriots who continue to languish in Hamas captivity in Gaza,” he added.
Diskin also called Netanyahu “the worst and most failed prime minister in the country’s history.”
According to anti-government protest group Hofshi Israel, more than 150,000 people took part in the rally, the largest since the start of the Gaza war. Some demonstrators covered themselves in red paint and lay on the ground in Democracy Square to symbolize the death of Israeli democracy under Prime Minister Netanyahu. Yuval Diskin, former head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, addressed the crowd, calling Netanyahu Israel’s “worst prime minister.”
Many protesters are unhappy with the country’s right-wing coalition, which includes Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other far-right radical nationalists. They accuse the government of prolonging the war in Gaza, endangering the country’s security and the hostages. Yoram, a 50-year-old tour guide who attends every weekly demonstration, called for the collapse of the government and the need for immediate elections, saying, “If we go in 2026, the original election date, it won’t be a democratic election.”
The war in Gaza has had devastating effects on both sides. Hamas fighters captured 251 hostages on October 7, of which Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 its military has said are dead. A separate rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night drew thousands of relatives and supporters of the hostages.
An AFP tally based on official Israeli figures said 1,194 people, most of them civilians, had been killed in Israeli attacks, while the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said at least 37,551 people, most of them civilians, had been killed in Israeli attacks.
(With input from relevant agencies)
Protesters gathered on a main road in Israel’s largest city, holding signs with messages such as “Minister of Crime” and “Stop the War”.
Shai Elel, a 66-year-old contractor, worried about the future of his grandchildren, saying, “If we don’t go out and oust this awful government, they won’t have a future,” and criticized Knesset members, saying, “All those rats in the Knesset… I won’t let any of them be guards at a kindergarten.”
“For weeks, I refused requests to join the protests. Something deep in my heart told me that it was not the time, that regime change during a war may not be a good idea, that unity is the most important thing,” The Times of Israel quoted former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin as saying.
“But I am astonished every day by the government’s incompetence, its failure to manage the war, its lies about ‘total victory’, its complete evasion of responsibility, its destruction of strategic relations with the United States, and, perhaps above all, its missed opportunities to return our kidnapped compatriots who continue to languish in Hamas captivity in Gaza,” he added.
Diskin also called Netanyahu “the worst and most failed prime minister in the country’s history.”
According to anti-government protest group Hofshi Israel, more than 150,000 people took part in the rally, the largest since the start of the Gaza war. Some demonstrators covered themselves in red paint and lay on the ground in Democracy Square to symbolize the death of Israeli democracy under Prime Minister Netanyahu. Yuval Diskin, former head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, addressed the crowd, calling Netanyahu Israel’s “worst prime minister.”
Many protesters are unhappy with the country’s right-wing coalition, which includes Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other far-right radical nationalists. They accuse the government of prolonging the war in Gaza, endangering the country’s security and the hostages. Yoram, a 50-year-old tour guide who attends every weekly demonstration, called for the collapse of the government and the need for immediate elections, saying, “If we go in 2026, the original election date, it won’t be a democratic election.”
The war in Gaza has had devastating effects on both sides. Hamas fighters captured 251 hostages on October 7, of which Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 its military has said are dead. A separate rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night drew thousands of relatives and supporters of the hostages.
An AFP tally based on official Israeli figures said 1,194 people, most of them civilians, had been killed in Israeli attacks, while the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said at least 37,551 people, most of them civilians, had been killed in Israeli attacks.
(With input from relevant agencies)
