Thousands of protesters descend on Jerusalem demanding a hostage deal

Tens of thousands of protestors have taken to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas and bring the remaining hostages home.

On Sunday night, Israelis, some of them weeping, gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, shouting ‘Murderer!’ and demanding the return of all the hostages with the slogan, ‘Everyone! Now!’ while hostages’ relatives in Tel Aviv marched with coffins to symbolise the toll.

The mass demonstration – the largest since the war began nearly 11 months ago – erupted outside the presidential building in a bid to apply pressure on the government to finally secure a hostage release deal.

It comes after six hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise October 7 terror attack on Israel were found ‘brutally killed moments before we (IDF) reached them,’ on Saturday, IDF International Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said on X.

Cease-fire negotiations have dragged on for months, and many blame Netanyahu for failing to reach a deal. Israel’s army has acknowledged the difficulty of rescuing dozens of remaining hostages and said only a deal can bring a large-scale return.

‘We really think that the government is making these decisions for its own conservation and not for the lives of the hostages, and we need to tell them, ‘Stop!”’ said Shlomit Hacohen, a Tel Aviv resident.

Three of the six hostages found dead – including an Israeli-American – were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal discussed in July, and this only added to the sense of fury and frustration among the protesters.

‘Nothing is worse than knowing that they could have been saved,’ said Dana Loutaly. ‘Sometimes it takes something so awful to shake people up and get them out into the streets.’

The military said all six hostages were killed shortly before Israeli forces arrived. Netanyahu blamed the Hamas militant group for the stalled negotiations, saying ‘whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.’

One hostage was Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, a native of Berkeley, California, who lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him alive, sparking new protests in Israel.

The army identified the others as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; Alexander Lobanov, 33; and Carmel Gat, 40.

The army said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, around a kilometer (half a mile) from where another hostage was rescued alive last week.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesperson, said Israeli forces found the bodies several dozen meters (yards) underground as ‘ongoing combat’ was underway, but that there was no firefight in the tunnel itself. He said there was no doubt Hamas had killed them.

Hamas offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the hostages would still be alive if Israel had accepted a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal that Hamas said it had agreed to in July.

Funerals began, with more outrage. Sarusi’s body was wrapped in an Israeli flag. ‘You were abandoned on and on, daily, hour after hour, 331 days,’ his mother, Nira, said. ‘You and so many beautiful and pure souls. Enough. No more.’

Israel has announced a nationwide general strike set for tomorrow over the failure to release hostages held captive in Gaza, stating that a ceasefire deal ‘is more important than anything else’.

Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David made the announcement on Sunday, adding the action will begin at 6am tomorrow with decisions beyond Monday to be made at a later time.

Speaking at a press conference following a meeting with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Bar-David said: ‘Jews are being murdered in the tunnels of Gaza. It is impossible to grasp and has to stop’.

He chillingly continued: ‘We are getting body bags instead of a deal. I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention might move those who need to be moved.

‘I call on the people of Israel to go out to the streets tonight and tomorrow and for everyone to take part in the strike.

‘It is impossible to stand by anymore and neglect as our children are murdered in the tunnels of Gaza… a deal needs to be reached, a deal is more important than anything else.

‘Therefore, I have decided that starting tomorrow, the entire Israeli economy will go on strike’.

After conversing with several security officials at the event, the labor leader said he believes a ceasefire deal has not yet been reached ‘because of political considerations’, claiming ‘we are no longer one people; we are camp against camp… we need to bring back the State of Israel’. 

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum joined the chorus after earlier calling on Israeli citizens to ‘join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete shutdown of the country’.

The group welcomed Bar-David’s decision, stating: ‘The economy and the country will stop tomorrow, to apply pressure on the cabinet and the prime minister to end the abandonment, save the living hostages, and return the 101 hostages in a deal’. 

As a result of the nationwide strike, restaurants, cinemas, and other popular venues will close early. 

A large Israeli law firm also said it will support the protests by offering legal assistance to anyone targeted by Israeli Police during their show of activism. 

The mayor of Tel Aviv publicly backed the strike move, saying the municipality will join tomorrow’s action, in a post on X.

Ron Huladi goes on to accuse the Israeli government of ‘abandoning’ the six hostages whose bodies were discovered on Gaza, while adding the planned strike action is a ‘sign of solidarity’ with the victims and their families.

He called for people to take to the streets of Tel Aviv from morning until noon. 

Some celebrity chefs and culinary icons in Israel also came forward on social media to declare their support and call on other businesses to join them in the strike.

Israeli chef Haim Cohen wrote to his employees on Sunday: ‘We woke up to a black morning, without a ray of sunshine in the skies. 

‘We will not work this evening. We will close the kitchens to… support the families of the hostages’.

Israel’s international airport will also be suspending operations starting at 8am on Monday morning.

Several local councils have also offered their support, with some businesses encouraging their employees to join their protesting families.

The three major Israeli news channels, Channels 11, 12, and 13, announced changes to their schedules, announcing the postponement of reality TV shows and other entertainment programmes so they can air crucial news broadcasts and cover the funerals of the deceased hostages.

The IDF identified the hostages as Hersh Goldberg-Polin – an Israeli-American – Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Carmel Gat, 39, Almog Sarusi, 26, Alex Lubnov, 26, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino, 25.

They were among 251 hostages seized during the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militants with the Times of Israel reporting that autopsies have shown the hostages were murdered in the last 48 hours.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also vowed to ‘settle the score’ with Hamas after the military discovered the hostages’ bodies.  

‘Those who kill hostages do not want an agreement’ for a Gaza truce, Netanyahu said in a statement, telling Hamas leaders that ‘we will hunt you down, we will catch you and we will settle the score’.

Netanyahu also said he is mourning for the hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza, and accused Hamas of ‘unimaginable cruelty.’

‘Along with all the citizens of Israel, I was shocked to the depths of my soul by the terrible cold-blooded murder of six of our abductees,’ he said.

‘I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our abductees and I say to their leaders — your blood is on your head. We will not rest and we will not be silent. We will pursue you, we will catch up with you and we will bring you to account’.

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is also urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas to bring the remaining hostages home from Gaza.

In a post on X, Gallant said it’s ‘too late for the abductees who were murdered in cold blood’.

‘The abductees who remain in the captivity of Hamas must be returned home.’

The bloody Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7 when the Palestinian Islamist group attacked an Israeli music festival in southern Israel, killing 1,200 and snatching around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

At least 40,691 Palestinians have now been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel’s counter offensives in Gaza, the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.