Hundreds of thousands demonstrate in Tel Aviv at end of nationwide day of hostage protests

Hundreds of thousands of people crowded in central Tel Aviv on Sunday night, capping a nationwide day of protests and strikes calling on the government to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of the hostages held there by Palestinian terrorists.

The rally in Tel Aviv appeared to be one of the biggest since the war began nearly two years ago, and according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum was attended by over half a million people, though there were no official police estimates for the crowd’s size.

The forum also estimated that some 1 million people had taken part in protests across the country throughout the day, as protest groups and organizations joined forces to stage a major day of civil disobedience after the cabinet voted earlier this month to conquer Gaza City despite warnings by top security officials that this would endanger the hostages.

Other major protests took place in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba and several smaller cities, with demonstrators blocking roads and highways, demanding that an end to the war be reached.

Before Sunday night’s massive rally began, at least 38 people had been arrested across the country as activists blocked streets and in some cases clashed with officers who had been trying to reopen them, according to police.

And after the rally, police said six more had been arrested after hundreds “disrupted public order,” clashed with cops and blocked the city’s Ayalon Highway. That road and all other roads were reopened to traffic, police added.

The day of protests came alongside a major strike, which was joined by hundreds of local authorities, businesses, universities, tech companies and other organizations, though Israel’s central labor union, the Histadrut, did not join the effort.

‘My son is suffering so that the government can build settlements’

Addressing the crowd of hundreds of thousands at the rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, the fathers of two of the hostages accused the government of abandoning their sons in captivity for political reasons.

Ofir Braslavaski, father of hostage Rom Braslavski, said that he is watching his son waste away, and can do nothing about it.

Videos of Braslavski and hostage Evyatar David were released last week in which they appeared emaciated and deeply distressed.

“The entire country saw, all of the leaders saw, but the cabinet chose to expand the war and abandon them,” Braslavski said. “My Rom has no time, the hostages have no time.”

“To my beloved Rom, stay strong, please. We love you,” he added.

Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, echoed the accusations against the government: “We’re living under a terror organization that refuses to give us back our children for political reasons,” he said of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

“My son, Nimrod, is suffering so that the government can build settlements in Gaza, and I refuse to let him be sacrificed on that altar,” Cohen continued.

“This country won’t return to normality until the hostages are returned in a comprehensive deal and the war ends,” he said. “If the Netanyahu government isn’t willing to do this, then they should quit and allow someone more responsible to do so.”

At the rally, the family of hostage Matan Zangauker played a video they released earlier in the day showing him in Hamas captivity.

The video of Zangauker is only a few seconds long, in which he asks his mother to “keep making noise” and that he “hopes to see [her] soon.”

The video, which was obtained by the IDF during operations in Gaza, was said to be from several months ago, with some reports even suggesting the video was from the beginning of the war.

Following the screening, Matan’s mother, Einav Zangauker, addressed the crowd: “My Matan, my hero, I’m so proud of you, how you have stayed strong for 681 days. Continue to stay strong.”

“Matan asked for noise, so give him noise!” Zangauker said to roaring applause.

“My soul hurts and burns from longing for you,” she said, adding that the government has turned this “just war” into an “endless war.”

“We don’t have a worthy government, but we have the most worthy nation in the world,” Zangauker continued. “We demand a comprehensive deal and an end to the war. We demand what we deserve — our children! And we will continue to demand it until we get it.”

Also at the rally, organizers screened a video in which several released hostages beseeched US President Donald Trump to end the war and bring the hostages home.

The former hostages who addressed the president in English were Naama Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, Doron Steinbrecher, Sasha Troufanov, Arbel Yehoud and Iair Horn — all of whom were released in the last hostage deal, which ended in March — in addition to Michal Lubanov, the wife of Alex Lubanov, who was kidnapped alive and murdered by his captors in August 2024, with his body returned to Israel days later.

“Thank you, President Trump, for bringing us home,” said Levy.

“Every bullet, every strike puts them in danger,” added Troufanov of the danger posed by continued military action to the remaining hostages.

“You have the power to make history, to be the president who made peace, ended the war, ended the suffering, including my little brother,” Horn said.

Heated encounters on the roads

After the speeches, hundreds of people marched to the nearby Likud party headquarters, where they lit a bonfire and clashed with police.

Police stopped the demonstrators from reaching the entrance of the Metzudat Ze’ev building, and videos posted to social media showed officers jostling violently with demonstrators who were banging drums and chanting slogans against the government.

המשטרה מפעילה כעת כוח פיזי חריג נגד אלפי מפגינים שמנסים להתקדם לעבר מצודת זאב בתל אביב – מטה הליכוד.
במהלך העימותים קוראים המפגינים לעבר השוטרים: ״שוטר, שוטר – על מי אתה שומר?״ ו־״שוטרים של מחבל״ pic.twitter.com/r6G9gtGXJk

— Yanal Jabarin ينال جبارين | ינאל ג׳בארין (@JbareenYanal) August 17, 2025

Throughout Sunday, as protesters blocked main roads, highways and intersections in almost every city in the country, several incidents were recorded in which drivers confronted or even attacked demonstrators for standing in their way.

One such incident was recorded in central Israel’s Hod Hasharon, where a truck driver stormed out of his vehicle, wielding a metal rod, and tried to punch several protesters who were standing in the intersection.

נהג המשאית שיצא מרכבו עם מוט ברזל ותקף מפגינים – זווית נוספת

17/08/2025 הוד השרון pic.twitter.com/e0OuDPsFSc

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) August 17, 2025

Officials visit Hostages Square

Earlier in the day, former defense minister Yoav Gallant paid a visit to Hostages Square to lend support to the families of the 50 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity.

While there, Gallant met with several relatives, including Idit and Kobi Ohel, the parents of hostage Alon Ohel.

The ex-defense minister, who was sacked by Netanyahu in November, has accused the premier and his cabinet of resisting a ceasefire deal that would have led to the return of more living hostages.

At the time, Gallant said that he believed he had been fired, among other reasons, due to his insistence on securing the release of the hostages from Gaza.

Several other major figures and politicians visited the square on Sunday to pay respects to the families, including President Isaac Herzog, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, former president Reuven Rivlin and Histadrut chair Arnon Bar-David.

Ex-hostage: Protests gave us the strength of 10 meals

Former hostage Eli Sharabi, whose wife Lianne and two teenage daughters Noiya and Yahel were killed on October 7, said that seeing the protests while in captivity “was worth 10 meals.”

Sharabi, who was released by terrorists in an emaciated condition, told Channel 12 that the knowledge that people are fighting for them provides a boost for the hostages.

“It warms the heart, it’s amazing. I remember when I came out — I wasn’t exposed to any media for 16 months — but when I came out and they showed me the things that the people of Israel did for the hostages, for the families of the kidnapped, it warmed my heart,” he said.

Sharabi said that while he himself was not exposed to media while held in Gaza, his captors told him that his wife and daughters had spoken at the demonstrations.

Sharabi said that while it was manipulation on the part of those holding him, it gave him tremendous strength.

“Just the knowledge that someone was fighting for me outside, gave us tremendous strength, it filled us with great optimism, which has no price,” he said.

“That strength was worth ten meals. Ten meals of a quarter of a pita bread a day,” said Sharabi.

Some families of hostages oppose the protests

While most of the families of the hostages support the protest movement, several do not, believing it to be playing into the hands of Hamas and increasing their demands, as Netanyahu and other right-wing figures asserted Sunday.

Standing starkly against the main Hostage Families Forum is the Tikva Forum, a more hawkish group that represents a cadre of hostage families and relatives of fallen soldiers who are opposed to protests against the government and favor military pressure to bring their relatives home over negotiations.

Nadav Miran, the brother of the hostage Omri Miran, said that he opposed Sunday’s strikes and protests because they “strengthen Hamas,” arguing that the terror group sees the major public uproar against the Israeli government, which leads them to harden their positions.

Also speaking against the strikes, Ditza Or, mother of hostage Avinatan Or, said that “the goal of the strike is to stop the war, not to return the hostages,” and that the plight of the hostages is only used to “manipulate” Israelis into taking to the streets to demand an end to the war.

Netanyahu said to be open to partial deal

As Sunday’s protests took place, Hebrew media reported that despite saying in a Saturday statement that he will only consider hostage deals that return all 50 captives, Netanyahu is in fact prepared to consider a partial ceasefire and hostage-release agreement with Hamas.

Channel 12 news reported, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, that an official involved in the negotiations recently told relatives of hostages that “Israel is currently prepared to aim only for a comprehensive deal. But there are too many unresolved issues regarding the end of the war. If Hamas agrees to a partial deal under conditions that are acceptable to us, don’t be surprised if the red line suddenly shifts.”

And Channel 13 news, quoting a senior member of Israel’s negotiating team, said Netanyahu is willing to discuss “a ‘phased’ deal” with Hamas, while adding that “we have not received a draft from the mediators.” According to the official, both Qatar and Egypt are trying to jumpstart the process.

The reports came after the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement Saturday night, insisting that Israel is strictly seeking a comprehensive deal in which all hostages are released at once and all of Netanyahu’s conditions are met, following claims that Hamas has renewed its willingness to pursue a phased ceasefire-hostage arrangement.

The primary voice opposing any partial deals within the security cabinet is Netanyahu’s top adviser, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Channel 12 added.

According to the network, Dermer — who strongly objected to any partial frameworks during the cabinet session earlier this month that approved Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City in October — is taking this stance because he aims to secure stated guarantees from Trump on the terms of an agreement.

The goal, the report said, is to obtain within a month an official announcement from Trump outlining conditions for a comprehensive end to the war — including the release of all hostages. If this strategy succeeds in pressuring Hamas to accept such terms, Channel 12 added, the need to enter and occupy Gaza City could be averted.

Still, during Sunday’s cabinet meeting, officials indicated that if a partial deal becomes viable — one that would likely bring home about half of the living hostages and half of the deceased captives — Israel would be willing to agree to a 60-day ceasefire, throughout which it would reassess how to proceed with its military campaign.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, including 49 of the 251 abducted in the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 60,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.