In a powerful display of public dissent, an estimated 150,000 Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv's Democracy Square on Saturday night, with tens of thousands more joining protests at roughly 70 locations nationwide. The demonstrations, which have become a weekly occurrence, took on a particularly poignant tone as former hostages joined the chorus of voices demanding immediate elections and a deal to secure the release of those still held in Gaza.
Ilana Gritzewsky, 30, who spent 55 harrowing days in Hamas captivity, delivered an emotional address that laid bare the ongoing trauma faced by freed hostages and the perceived indifference of the government, as reported by the Times of Israel.
"For 55 days I was held by human monsters," Gritzewsky told the crowd, her voice tinged with both anguish and resolve. "Since I was freed, my body is here, but my soul is still there." In a scathing indictment of the current administration, Gritzewsky revealed that "not one minister bothered to call me to ask how I was."
Shani Goren, another former hostage, spoke on behalf of her friend Arbel Yehud, who turned 29 in captivity on Saturday. "Every day I wake up, I'm still held hostage because until Arbel and everyone else return home, we can't even begin to discuss rehabilitation and moving forward," Goren said, encapsulating the limbo in which many freed hostages find themselves.
The protests come amid growing frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war and negotiations for the hostages' release. Former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin didn't mince words, calling Netanyahu "the worst and most failed prime minister in the history of the state."
As the night wore on, tensions flared in some locations. In Tel Aviv, mounted police clashed with protesters outside Likud party headquarters, resulting in three arrests. The heavy-handed police response, which included shoving a Channel 12 reporter, drew criticism from Labor MK Gilad Kariv, who questioned the legality of the police tactics.
With no end in sight to the war in Gaza and negotiations for a hostage deal seemingly stalled, the weekly protests have become a barometer of public sentiment. As one unnamed senior Israeli diplomatic source told Channel 12, "the ball is in Hamas's court," suggesting that Israel has gone as far as it can in negotiations.