Tens of thousands of protesters calling for an immediate hostage release deal and an end to the war in Gaza poured into Jerusalem from all over Israel on Wednesday.
The “day of disruption” took place in response to a call by the mothers of the two soldiers still held hostage in Gaza – among the 20 captives believed to be alive – to bring the protests to free the hostages directly to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Some of the protesters barricaded themselves on the roof of Israel’s national library, draping a large banner over the building and chanting slogans via megaphones.
Others set rubbish bins and tyres on fire, damaging parked cars and prompting the evacuation of residents from nearby buildings in the area of the prime minister’s residence.
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“We are standing here with a very simple, straight and direct message: we want a ceasefire and hostage deal and this is Netanyahu’s responsibility to do it,” said Yehuda Cohen, the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, at a rally outside the prime minister’s residence.
Anat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, condemned the planned escalation of the war. “The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff [Eyal Zamir] is saying in a clear voice that continuing the war is a death trap for soldiers,” she claimed.
The protesters also claim that Israel’s planned attack on Gaza City will endanger the lives of the hostages, noting that a year ago Hamas killed six hostages in Rafah when Israeli troops approached the area.
US president Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday, calling on Hamas to “IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 Hostages,” referring to the 20 believed to be alive, and added that subsequently, “things will change rapidly”.
He stressed that “Not two [hostages] or five or seven” would suffice.
Even though the major military thrust into Gaza City has not begun, fighting is already taking place in the city and in adjacent areas, with soldiers and tanks on Wednesday pushing into the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood.
[ Thousands of Israeli reservists report for duty ahead of new Gaza City offensiveOpens in new window ]
According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry on Wednesday, 113 residents were killed in the previous 24 hours, including 33 who were seeking humanitarian aid.
IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir toured Gaza on Wednesday and said the second stage of the Gaza City assault, aimed at returning the hostages and defeating Hamas, was under way. “We will not stop until Hamas is defeated,” he said. “We are intensifying the fighting and deepening the strikes against the Hamas terrorist organisation.”
According to an Israeli security source, up to 80,000 people have already been displaced from Gaza City, most within the past 72 hours. Humanitarian groups said Gaza City residents were “reluctant to move due to the fear of not being able to return or exhaustion from repeated displacement”.
Gaza City residents said the military had destroyed homes and tent encampments that had housed Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.
“Sheikh Radwan is being burnt upside-down. The occupation destroyed houses, burnt tents, and drones played audio messages ordering people to leave the area,” said Zakeya Sami (60), a mother of five, referring to the Israeli military.
[ Israeli drones drop grenades near UN peacekeepers in LebanonOpens in new window ]
“If the takeover of Gaza City isn’t stopped, we might die, and we are not going to forgive anyone who stands and watches without doing anything to prevent our death,” she told Reuters news agency.
The military dropped grenades on three schools in the Sheikh Radwan area that had been used to shelter displaced Palestinians, setting tents ablaze, according to residents, who said the Palestinians fled before the bombing.
Israeli sources claim that Hamas is using various measures to prevent residents leaving Gaza City, adding that the humanitarian area in southern Gaza will be expanded to accommodate about two million people, almost the entire population of the war-torn enclave.
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities reported on Wednesday that at least 21,000 children in Gaza have been disabled since the start of the war.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said that it had thwarted a Hamas plan to assassinate far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir using explosive drones.
The Gaza war began on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas gunmen burst into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel’s military offensive against Hamas has since killed at least 63,000 Palestinians, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has said.
