Politics Tens of thousands of Israelis protest against the government

On Saturday evening, tens of thousands of people once again protested in Israel against the government and for an agreement to release the hostages held in the Gaza Strip. In the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, demonstrators chanted: "Alive, alive - and not in body bags".

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the number of people still alive could be as low as 50. Officially, around 120 people are still in the hands of Hamas and other terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

According to the organizers, the demonstration in Tel Aviv was the largest since 7 October. The news website ynet reported, citing the organizers, that around 150,000 people protested against the government in the city.

Mass protests against Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership also took place again in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba and other places. The people also called for new elections.

At a rally in Tel Aviv, many people also commemorated the birthday of a kidnapped female soldier who turned 20 years old while being held hostage on Saturday. Many demonstrators displayed posters with the face of the Israeli woman. Her parents demanded her release in a speech. Footage taken by the organizers showed the mother crying during the protest in Tel Aviv.

On the day of her abduction from a military base, Hamas had distributed footage showing the young woman with her hands tied and her trousers covered in blood. Around a month ago, a video was also published showing her and four other female soldiers frightened, injured and partly covered in blood during the abduction. The young women were working as army scouts in the border area with the Gaza Strip.

The USA, Qatar and Egypt are indirectly mediating between Israel and Hamas in order to achieve a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners - so far without success.

The demonstrators accuse Netanyahu of bowing to the demands of his extremist coalition partners and thwarting a deal for the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

Some ministers are against an agreement with the Islamists. The head of government, in turn, accuses Hamas of an intransigent attitude and holds it responsible for the stagnation in the negotiations. Hamas, on the other hand, sees Israel as having a duty. Hamas' main demands are an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.