Jerusalem: Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as protesters demanding a hostage deal escalated their campaign with a one-day nationwide strike that blocked roads and closed businesses.
The “day of stoppage” was organised by two groups representing some of the families of hostages and bereaved families, weeks after militant groups released videos of emaciated hostages and Israel announced plans for a new offensive.
Protesters fear further fighting could endanger the hostages who were seized by Hamas on October 7, 2023 — the attack that triggered the war — and are believed to still be alive in captivity. Israel believes that some 20 are still alive, with Hamas holding the remains of about 30 others.
“We don’t win a war over the bodies of hostages,” protesters chanted.
They gathered at dozens of points throughout Israel, including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major
highways, where they were sprayed with water cannons as they blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theatres closed in solidarity.
In Tel Aviv, among the protesters was a woman carrying a photo of an
emaciated child from Gaza. Such images were once rare at Israeli demonstrations, but now appear more often as outrage grows over conditions there.
Police said they had arrested 38 people as part of the nationwide demonstration — one of the fiercest since the uproar over six hostages found dead in Gaza last September.
“Military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back — it only kills them,” former hostage Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv’s hostage square.
“The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once,
without games.”