Nationwide Protests Demand Hostage Deal, Block Roads Across Israel
Families of hostages and their supporters staged nationwide protests across Israel on Tuesday, blocking major highways and gathering outside the homes of senior ministers to demand an agreement to free the captives and bring an end to the fighting in Gaza.
The coordinated day of demonstrations, led by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, began at 6:29 a.m. — the exact time Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, terror attack — with Israeli flags unfurled outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. By early morning, protesters had moved to junctions across the country, closing Route 2 near Yakum Junction, Route 40 near Rehovot, and sections of Route 1 and Route 443 connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, traffic on the Ayalon Highway came to a standstill as demonstrators flooded the road.
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In Jerusalem, protesters blocked the crosswalk outside Economy Minister Nir Barkat’s home with long strings of hostage posters, while in Ness Ziona they read aloud the names of captives outside the residence of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. Others rallied at the homes of Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. “Save them!” cried Shai Dickmann, cousin of slain hostage Carmel Gat, as demonstrators sounded foghorns.
At Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, relatives accused the government of dragging its feet. Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan, said after 690 days of war it was clear Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu feared “public pressure” more than prolonging the conflict. Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan and freed captive Iair, charged the government with deliberately blocking a potential deal.
The day of action was scheduled to end with a mass march to Hostages Square. Police later reopened roads, warning that while protests are permitted, “freedom of protest and expression is not freedom to harm others’ freedom of movement.”
