Hebrew media reported that demonstrations erupted in more than 350 locations, and included the closure of dozens of major roads, including Highway 1, linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as the Ra'anana Interchange north of Tel Aviv, which protesters blocked and burned tires, disrupting traffic. Protesters there reported being assaulted by a truck driver.
In Tel Aviv, hundreds of protesters gathered on Ibn Gvirol Street, while others demonstrated in front of the homes of ministers, including Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Negev and Galilee Affairs Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, to demand the release of prisoners.
Demonstrations continued Saturday evening in various cities, with thousands of Israelis gathering in Hatufim Square in front of the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, raising slogans calling for an end to the war and the acceleration of a prisoner exchange deal.
Similar protests also took place in Haifa at the Horev Center, while thousands more held a silent protest on Rothschild Boulevard near Habima Square in Tel Aviv, where they held up banners bearing the names and pictures of Gazan children killed in the war.
Speaking during a massive public demonstration in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters, Einav Tsingauk, mother of prisoner Matan Tsingauk, said, "Failure to halt the occupation of Gaza and failure to return to serious negotiations on a comprehensive deal will mean that we will wake up to the news of the deaths of 20 prisoners."
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For its part, the Forum of Families of Prisoners and Missing Persons announced its intention to set up protest tents near the Gaza border starting Monday, stressing that "the government's indifference compels us to escalate the struggle until we return our sons, or else we will lose them forever."
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The Israeli genocide left 61,897 Palestinians dead and 155,660 injured, most of them children and women. More than 9,000 people were missing, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of 251 people, including 108 children.
