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Israelis Hold Nationwide Protests and Strike to End the Gaza War
Polls show that close to 80% of Israelis support stopping the fighting in exchange for the return of hostages, but the government plans to expand it.
TEL AVIV—The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza led nationwide protests and a strike calling for their loved ones to be freed and for an end to the war in Gaza, a sign of growing domestic pressure to wrap up the fighting even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to expand it.
Protesters blocked big highways across the country on Sunday morning—the start of the working week in Israel—as part of demonstrations that will take place in more than 300 different locations and are expected to draw hundreds of thousands of Israelis, according to organizers. Major Israeli universities and some businesses and tech companies said they would strike for the day in support of the families.
The day of protests comes as Netanyahu announced earlier this month that Israel would take over Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are believed to be sheltering and where some Israeli hostages are thought to be held. That decision has drawn broad international condemnation as well as domestic opposition, with polls showing that close to 80% of Israelis, including right-wingers, support ending the war in exchange for the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
The pressure has so far failed to move Netanyahu. His critics say that he is prolonging the almost two-year-long war for his own political survival, an allegation he denies.
“The Prime Minister can bring one deal to return all the hostages and end the war, and he also has the backing of the people for that,” said Noam Peri, the daughter of deceased hostage Chaim Peri, during a press conference on Sunday morning. “But he chooses to expand it, in a decision that is a death sentence for the hostages who are dying in the tunnels.”
Netanyahu’s government depends on the support of far-right lawmakers who oppose ending the war and call for re-establishing Jewish settlements in Gaza. Lawmakers from Netanyahu’s coalition sharply criticized Sunday’s demonstrations.
“The riots in support of Hamas have begun,” said Likud party lawmaker Hanoch Milwidsky in a post on X.
The war in Gaza has killed over 61,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, which don’t say how many were combatants, and has left swaths of the strip in ruins. The enclave faces a dire humanitarian crisis, including widespread hunger.
In a sign of preparation for an invasion of Gaza City, the Israeli military unit charged with humanitarian coordination, called COGAT, said Saturday that it would begin to transfer tents and shelter equipment into Gaza. It said the equipment was required to evacuate the population south, a step Israel said it would take before the military operation began.
Demonstrations are set to take place in more than 300 locations across Israel.
Write to Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com
