Israeli media reported that 12 people were arrested at the anti-government protest in Tel Aviv, citing a police spokesperson.
Thousands of Israelis have protested across the country to demand a captive exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip as well as the dismissal of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Anadolu news agency, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that thousands in Tel Aviv, Netanya, Haifa and the Qiryat Tivon junction on Saturday demanded the release of captives in Gaza, the holding of early elections and the dismissal of the government.
Israeli army radio also reported that tens of thousands demonstrated in Kaplan Square in central Tel Aviv while protesters closed a section of Ayalon Street in central Tel Aviv. Police later reopened the street using force, the Israeli broadcasting authority reportedly said.
The Times of Israel reported that Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba, Rehovot, Caesarea, and Ness Ziona are among the 60 locales where demonstrations, some of them attended by thousands, are being held to demand early elections.
Twelve Arrested
Haaretz reported that 12 people were arrested at the anti-government protest in Tel Aviv, citing a police spokesperson.
According to the group We Are All Hostages comprised of families of the captives, an estimated 300,00 Israelis participated in the protests.
“Work to end this war. Work for a ceasefire. This is how we get a hostage deal. Join those of us out on the streets in Israel,” the group said on X. “That’s where the real fight is happening for our families, not in the boardrooms of nonprofits or the voices of Twitter propagandists.”
Work to end this war. Work for a ceasefire. This is how we get a hostage deal.
Join those of us out on the streets in Israel. That’s where the real fight is happening for our families, not in the boardrooms of nonprofits or the voices of Twitter propagandists.
— We Are All Hostages (@AllHostages) June 16, 2024
Protests in North
In the north of the country, hundreds of protesters closed the intersection of Amiad near the city of Safed on Saturday, slamming the government for neglecting the residents of northern areas amid the ongoing shelling by Hezbollah since October last year.
Protesters chanted slogans against Netanyahu’s policies, accusing the government of leaving “the north to burn,” reported Anadolu.
Tensions have risen along Lebanon’s border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 37,300 people since October 7.
Ongoing Genocide
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 37,296 Palestinians have been killed, and 85,197 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the enclave.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
Israeli Air and Artillery Strikes on Eid Al-Adha – Gaza Genocide Continues
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(Anadolu, PC)
Good to see them protesting. At least they’re willing to try.