Hostages’ forum says 500,000 attended a rally, over 1 million protested across the country Sunday; at rally, ex-captives urge Trump to push Israel to ‘end the suffering, make peace.’
By Catholics for Catholics
A series of protests and rallies across Israel have thousands of protestors demanding that the government end the war in Gaza, and secure the release of the hostages held by Palestinian terrorists.
According to The Times of Israel, hundreds of thousands of people crowded central Tel Aviv on Sunday night. The newspaper cited the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, reporting that over half a million people attended the rally, though there were no official police estimates for the crowd’s size.
The forum also estimated that some 1 million people had joined the demonstrations across the country throughout the day, as groups and organizations united to stage a major day of civil disobedience after the cabinet voted earlier this month to conquer Gaza City, despite warnings by top military officers that this would endanger the hostages.
Tonight in Tel Aviv: tens of thousands demand an end to the war, the occupation, and a corrupt murderous government. The dam is breaking.
— Etan Nechin (@Etanetan23) August 9, 2025
For anyone calling this war “pro-Israel,” — here’s actual Israel.pic.twitter.com/F4TLASdPkK
Other major marches were held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beersheba and several smaller cities, with demonstrators blocking roads and highways, demanding an end to the war.
At least 38 people had been arrested across the country. Protestors blocked streets and, in some cases, clashed with officers who had been trying to reopen them, according to police.
After the rally, police said six more individuals had been arrested after hundreds “disrupted public order,” clashed with cops and blocked the city’s Ayalon Highway. That road and all other roads were reopened to traffic, police added.
Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, accused the government, saying, “we’re living under a terror organization that refuses to give us back our children for political reasons,” he said of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
‘LARGEST’ anti-war protest in Israel since October 7
— RT (@RT_com) August 17, 2025
Hundreds of thousands demand Netanyahu end the ‘ANNIHILATION’ war
Organizers claim 200,000+ on the streets tonight https://t.co/pFtYc8EtIN pic.twitter.com/aomfy4BVHb
“My son, Nimrod, is suffering so that the government can build settlements in Gaza, and I refuse to let him be sacrificed on that altar,” Cohen continued.
The day of protests came alongside a major strike, which was joined by hundreds of local authorities, businesses, universities, tech companies and other organizations, though Israel’s central labor union, the Histadrut, did not join the effort.
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