Thousands of Israelis gathered outside the Tel Aviv Ministry of Defense and urged the government to prioritize the release of prisoners still in Gaza rather than escalating military operations on Palestinian territory.
The demonstrations on Saturday came as the Benjamin Netanyahu government mandated the mobilization of up to 60,000 reserve forces, marking plans to strengthen attacks on the surrounded Palestinian enclave.
A protester held up a placard with Netanyahu engraved on it, saying, “Our tyrant is a liar because his country is on fire.”
Government officials claim that the expanded military offensive against Gaza will urge Hamas to release the remaining 59 prisoners, but critics believe this further endangered their lives. The brief ceasefire ended, and earlier this year, Palestinian prisoners replaced Israeli prisoners, who were not reissued.
A video circulated by Hamas on Saturday allegedly showed an Israeli prisoner, which local media identified as Maxim Herkin. In a four-minute video posted online, Hamas members rescued Hegin after an Israeli attack attacked a tunnel, burying and injuring Israeli prisoners.
The captive’s family issued a statement saying they spent the Sabbath following “anxiety” after news of the government’s plan to escalate and its impact on people still holding in Gaza.
The campaign that brought them home, a group representing relatives, condemned the move as reckless.
In an article on X, the group said: “Israel is on its way into the Gaza mud in the name of a fantasy.
They urged Netanyahu to abandon the offensive and instead reached a deal that would ensure the return of prisoners. "Stop this error," the group said.
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the protest movement remains consistent but lacks momentum to challenge the Netanyahu league. "It's the same old protest, very brave and dedicated, but not enough to affect Netanyahu," Levy said.
He noted that much of Israeli society continues to support the efforts of war, even intensified by the frustration of the captured family, “when[the Israelites]are asked to go to war, they will obey.”
Netanyahu spoke at a public event in Jerusalem on Thursday, which seemed to suggest that defeating Hamas remains Israel's priority, rather than freeing prisoners. "We want to take all the hostages home," he said. "The war has the highest goal, and the highest goal is to defeat our enemies, which will achieve that."
The captive family accused Netanyahu of undermining previous attempts to truce and swap transactions. Some believe his refusal to compromise reflects political motivations designed to ensure the survival of his far-right coalition government rather than really caring about captives.