Last night, over 100,000 Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv, Yerushalayim, and numerous other cities throughout Eretz Yisroel to participate in protests, marking a significant increase in numbers compared to recent rallies. The demonstrations were fueled by outrage over the government’s decision to resume military actions in Gaza and plans to remove key officials.
In Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, tens of thousands of individuals filled the square, spilling out into the adjacent streets for the weekly anti-government protest. This turnout marked a stark contrast to previous weekends, when the square had remained partially empty.
The heightened participation was triggered by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s move to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, which many saw as an attempt to consolidate more power.
The protest at Habima Square was followed by another rally at Hostages Square, where the Hostages and Missing Families Forum organized a “rage rally” after the ceasefire in Gaza collapsed. This occurred after Israel launched a major airstrike followed by a renewed ground offensive, breaking a fragile two-month truce.
“The return to fighting could kill the living hostages and cause the fallen to disappear,” the forum warned in its appeal for support. “The only fight should take place in the negotiating room, for the immediate return of all the hostages. Hostages come first,” the statement emphasized. “We can’t give up on them now.”
At Habima Square, the protest took on a visual identity with Israeli flags mixed with those of center-left opposition parties Yesh Atid and the Democrats. Yair Lapid and Yair Golan, leaders of these parties, addressed the crowd.
A large banner displayed the message “Stopping the dictatorship mania,” and the crowd chanted: “Netanyahu is an abandoner. Netanyahu isn’t competent!”
Lapid opened his speech with a strong condemnation of the government, warning, “The government is doing everything to start a civil war here. Netanyahu is openly pushing for it.”
He also referenced comments by senior government ministers who threatened to disregard any ruling from the High Court of Justice that blocked the dismissal of Bar. Lapid stated, “if the October 7 government decides not to obey the court ruling, it will turn itself that day, that moment, into a criminal government.”
“If that happens, the entire country must stop. The only system that is not allowed to stop is the security system,” Lapid insisted.
Lapid then called for a broad-based strike across various sectors, declaring, “The economy needs to strike, the Knesset needs to strike, the courts need to strike, the local authorities need to strike. Not only the universities need to strike but the schools as well.”
In a show of solidarity, over 1,500 university faculty members joined a planned academic strike that would disrupt classes starting on Sunday, with support from nearly every major university in Israel.
“If we can organize a tax revolt, we will organize a tax revolt. We will not be complicit in the destruction of democracy,” Lapid declared.
His remarks echoed those made by both the Israel Business Forum and the Histadrut labor union, who had also voiced opposition to the government’s defiance of the High Court.
Lapid urged the public to keep attending the protests, emphasizing the importance of the demonstrations.
“If the streets were empty now, Einav [Zangauker] would be a thin woman alone in the great darkness, waiting for [her hostage son] Matan to return,” he said. “If the streets were empty now, Gali Baharav-Miara would have been fired, the courts would have already fallen, Israel would not have been a democracy for a long time.”
“If you hadn’t taken to the streets, we wouldn’t have the power in the Knesset to stop the draft evasion law,” he added. “If the streets were empty, if the square was silent, they would never have made any hostage deals.”
At Hostages Square, Democrats leader Yair Golan, who was recently assaulted by police during a protest in Jerusalem, also spoke out against the government’s actions. He warned that unless the government complied with the High Court’s ruling, a nationwide general strike would be called.
“The Jewish, democratic, Zionist and liberal State of Israel will not fall!” he declared, rallying the crowd.
Golan condemned the government’s actions as an attack on democracy, arguing, “Israel has found itself in an unprecedented historical moment in which the government is turning its back on the law, on the High Court of Justice and on the public.”
“A government in Israel that refuses to obey the High Court of Justice’s ruling is illegal and dangerous,” he added, stressing that Netanyahu “is not above the law.”
“And a government that refuses to obey the law is a dangerous government that must be stopped. It must be overthrown,” he said. “We are stopping the economy, the ports, transportation, the schools, academia, businesses and the streets. We are stopping the country — to save it.”
Golan called for a united front, urging Lapid and Benny Gantz to join forces to create a “single democratic front” to challenge the government.
“Benny, Gadi [Eisenkot], Yair, let’s establish Israel’s liberal democratic bloc,” he urged. “This struggle is not another protest. This is a struggle for the face of Israel. This is a struggle for our home.”
As the protests in Habima Square came to a close, attendees were asked to march to Begin Gate for a rally in solidarity with the hostages, where they would meet up with those coming from Hostages Square.
At the rally in Hostages Square, relatives of Gaza captives criticized Netanyahu for not prioritizing the return of their loved ones over military objectives.
The protest marked the first Saturday night demonstration since Netanyahu ordered the resumption of hostilities in Gaza after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the ceasefire.
The second phase of the ceasefire, which had been agreed upon in January, was supposed to include the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the end of the conflict, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Despite signing on to this framework, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not leave Gaza until Hamas is completely dismantled.
Yehuda Cohen, the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, condemned Netanyahu, stating, “after the deal blew up, Netanyahu is now blowing up the hostages in Gaza.”
“Netanyahu is killing the hostages and destroying the country,” Cohen declared.
Yifat Calderon, the cousin of freed hostage Ofer Calderon, appealed to US President Donald Trump to avoid being deceived by Netanyahu’s actions, accusing the prime minister of misleading the American administration.
Among the rally attendees were several freed hostages, including Sagui Dekel Chen, who was released from Hamas captivity on February 15. His wife Avital spoke to the crowd for the first time since his release.
“Today, I am particularly moved, because, for the first time, I am standing here at a rally and speaking in front of the most important person in my life — Sagui, the love of my life.”
“For months I have spoken in front of so many people, but you, you did not manage to hear a single one of my speeches,” she continued. “Today you are standing here, and seeing what the rallies for the hostages in the State of Israel look like.”
Freed hostage Gadi Mozes was also present, as was Tal Kupershtein, whose son Bar Kupershtein was abducted at the Nova music festival and remains in captivity.
Doron Steinbrecher, a former hostage released during the two-month ceasefire, also spoke to the crowd. She expressed anger at the government’s decision to resume fighting in Gaza rather than uphold the ceasefire terms.
“How are you not listening to us? How?” she asked the crowd. “The feeling there, after so much time, is that you’ve been abandoned. And that’s a pain that is impossible to put into words.”
Steinbrecher recalled her dreams of coming to Hostages Square before her release and expressed how the ongoing support of the public gave her strength.
“It gives you power, a lot of power,” she said. “It even makes you forget for a few moments the fear that you’ll be forgotten.”
Steinbrecher shared a painful memory of the final day of a truce in November 2023, when she was told she would be released the next day, only to hear bombing sounds instead.
“I didn’t sleep the entire night from the excitement that I was coming home,” she recalled. “Unfortunately, the morning began with sounds of bombing, and with them, the realization that I’m not going home.”
“I have fears and pains, but they’re not what’s important,” Steinbrecher said. “We, the returned hostages, can’t begin rehabilitating until everyone is here. And the country can’t either.”
As protesters began to leave Hostages Square and join the anti-government crowd at Begin Road, Eyal Eshel, the father of slain surveillance soldier Roni Eshel, vowed to fight for a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas onslaught.
Netanyahu has rejected calls for such a commission, which would be authorized by the judiciary, claiming bias against him.
Eshel criticized the government for attempting to distort the facts of the October 7 attack, likening their actions to denial.
“They can’t pick their own investigators,” Eshel said of the proposed political inquiry committee. “I won’t rest until a state commission of inquiry is established.”
He also called for an investigation into whether the government missed opportunities to rescue hostages who were later found dead.
“Roni would have called out in a clear voice: Bring our brothers and sisters home now!” Eshel added.
As with other protests, the one at Begin Road was also noticeably larger than in recent weeks, with protesters filling the road from Kaplan to Shaul HaMelech streets.
Protests were not limited to Tel Aviv, as thousands took to the streets across the country, including in Haifa, Beersheba, and Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, Dani Elgarat, whose brother Itzik was killed in captivity, warned that the number of captives killed would likely rise now that fighting has resumed.
“It’s his directive that killed them,” Elgarat said, referring to Netanyahu. “He is directing events, he is acting against the interest of the country. He wants the captives dead, silent and not sharing details.”
Echoing demands for a general strike, Elgarat called on the attorney general to prevent Netanyahu from continuing his plans and urged the IDF chief of staff to disobey the prime minister’s orders.
Former prime minister Ehud Barak also spoke out, calling for Baharav-Miara to declare that Netanyahu should recuse himself.
Protests in Yerushalayim were louder and more intense than usual, with demonstrators banging drums and chanting “Shame!” amplified by bullhorns.
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