Hundreds of thousands of Israelis held demonstrations across the country on Sunday, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a ceasefire with Hamas and bring about the return of hostages held in Gaza.
Demonstrations, participated in by about 700,000, according to the Xinhua news agency quoting Israel's Ynet news site, were held on major highways and at crossroads across the nation.
Demonstrations started in the morning and followed into the night after an IDF announcement about the recovery of bodies of six hostages.
In Tel Aviv, hundreds of people in an emotional protest outside the Kirya military base, headquarters of the IDF. Protestors, waving Israeli flags and banners chanted "A deal -- Now!" Many held posters with photos of hostages. In total, 101 hostages remain in Gaza, of which about half are presumed to have been killed in Hamas attacks or Israeli bombings.
Speaking before the crowd was Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, who said: "There is a deal proposal on the table" but Netanyahu declines to accept it out of fear of losing support from his coalition of pro-settler leaders.
Late into the night, thousands of protesters in Tel Aviv set fire to the Ayalon Highway, temporarily blocking the main freeway. The police further said that it dispersed the crowd and at least 12 arrests were made nationwide.
By nightfall, cinemas, theaters, museums, universities, restaurants, cafes, pubs, and other businesses across the country stayed shut in solidarity with the protest.
The demonstrations are likely to spill into Monday, with a general strike. Arnon Bar-David, secretary-general of the Histadrut - Israel's biggest workers' organization - declared the strike in a live television broadcast and blamed Netanyahu for blocking the deal out of "political considerations."
The protests had come after the bodies of two women and four men were returned from Gaza. The IDF said they had been killed in a Hamas tunnel shortly before soldiers arrived.
The six had been captured alive on October 7, 2023, during the surprise attack by Hamas on the Israeli communities that left about 1,200 people dead and some 250 taken captive.
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