Tens of thousands of grief-stricken and furious Israelis flooded the streets on Sunday night, demanding immediate action from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a cease-fire with Hamas and bring home the remaining hostages. This mass protest was triggered by the discovery of six more hostages found dead in Gaza. As crowds chanted “Now! Now!” in unison, the gathering was noted as possibly the largest public demonstration since the war began 11 months ago, signaling a potential turning point in the deeply divided nation.
The pressure on the government increased further as Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, announced a general strike for Monday. This strike, the first since the Hamas attack on October 7 that initiated the current conflict, aims to shut down or significantly disrupt key sectors of the economy, including banking, healthcare, and operations at the nation’s primary airport.
Efforts to negotiate a cease-fire have been ongoing for months, but many Israelis blame Netanyahu for the lack of progress. Public opinion polls indicate that a majority of Israelis support a cease-fire deal. However, Netanyahu still enjoys considerable backing from those who believe in his strategy of achieving “total victory” over Hamas, even if it means delaying a deal for the hostages.
On Sunday night, thousands of people, some openly weeping, gathered outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, while in Tel Aviv, relatives of the hostages marched with coffins to symbolize the heavy toll of the conflict.
“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 resident of Tel Aviv, voicing a sentiment widely shared among the protesters.
The anger and frustration among the protesters were further fueled by reports that three of the six deceased hostages, including an Israeli-American, were initially slated to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal discussed in July. “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 reported that all six hostages were killed just before Israeli forces arrived. “Whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal,” Netanyahu said, laying the blame on Hamas for the stalled negotiations. One of the hostages was Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American originally from Berkeley, California, who had lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, Hamas released a video showing him alive, which had sparked significant protests in Israel. The other victims were identified as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; Alexander Lobanov, 33; and Carmel Gat, 40.
According to the Israeli Health Ministry, autopsies determined that the hostages were shot at close range and died on either Thursday or Friday. The army reported that their bodies were recovered from a tunnel in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, approximately a kilometer from where another hostage had been rescued alive the previous week. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesperson, stated that Israeli forces found the bodies several dozen meters underground during ongoing combat, though no firefight occurred in the tunnel itself. He affirmed there was no doubt that Hamas was responsible for their deaths.
Hamas has offered to release the remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of a substantial number of Palestinian prisoners, including prominent militants. Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, claimed that the hostages would still be alive if Israel had accepted a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal that Hamas had agreed to in July.
As funerals for the hostages began, outrage among Israelis grew. Almog Sarusi’s body was draped in an Israeli flag. His mother, Nira, expressed her grief, stating, “You were abandoned on and on, daily, hour after hour, 331 days. You and so many beautiful and pure souls.”
Despite the escalating calls for a cease-fire, Netanyahu has vowed to continue the fight until Hamas is completely destroyed. Some top security officials have argued that the increased pressure on Hamas has created favorable conditions for a cease-fire deal. The army has also recognized the difficulty of conducting successful rescue operations and acknowledged that a negotiated deal is the safest way to secure the release of a large number of hostages.
Critics of Netanyahu, however, accuse him of prioritizing his political survival over the lives of the hostages. The end of the war could prompt an investigation into his government’s handling of the October 7 attacks, potentially leading to the government’s collapse and early elections.
Public outrage over the deaths of the six hostages may signify a new wave of political pressure on Netanyahu. “I think this is an earthquake. This isn’t just one more step in the war,” said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s International Security Program, shortly before the Sunday protests.
Tensions have also been rising within Netanyahu’s government. Some senior military and security officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have warned that time is running out. According to a report by Israel’s Channel 12, Netanyahu clashed with Gallant in a heated exchange during a security Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Gallant accused Netanyahu of prioritizing control over a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border—a significant sticking point in the negotiations—over the lives of the hostages.
An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the report and revealed that three of the hostages—Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi, and Gat—were supposed to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal discussed in July. “In the name of the state of Israel, I hold their families close to my heart and ask forgiveness,” Gallant said on Sunday as the Cabinet convened that evening.
A forum representing the families of the hostages has called for a “complete halt of the country” to pressure the government into securing a cease-fire and the release of the hostages.
Although this outpouring of anger might not immediately threaten Netanyahu’s grip on power, given that he still holds a parliamentary majority, he has capitulated to public pressure in the past. A general strike last year, for example, contributed to delaying his controversial judicial reforms.
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, U.S.-born immigrants to Israel, have become perhaps the most visible advocates for the hostages on the international stage. They have met with U.S. President Joe Biden and Pope Francis, and on August 21, they spoke at the Democratic National Convention, receiving prolonged applause and chants of “bring him home.” Following the news of their son’s death, President Biden expressed his deep sorrow and anger, stating he was “devastated and outraged.” The White House later confirmed that Biden had spoken with Goldberg-Polin’s parents to offer his condolences.
Since October 7, Hamas-led militants have captured around 250 hostages. Israel now believes that 101 remain in captivity, with 35 presumed dead. Over 100 hostages were released during a cease-fire in November in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Eight hostages have been rescued by Israeli forces, although in December, Israeli troops accidentally killed three Israeli hostages who had escaped captivity.
The conflict, initiated on October 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people—mostly civilians—has resulted in a devastating Israeli retaliation in Gaza. According to local health officials, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, though these figures do not differentiate between civilians and militants.
On Sunday, an Israeli strike in southern Gaza targeted a car, killing four Palestinians, as reported by officials from Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and confirmed by an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies.
The war has caused widespread displacement of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many of whom have been forced to relocate multiple times, plunging the already besieged territory into a severe humanitarian crisis.
