Huge crowds gather in Israel calling for a deal for hostages and ending the war in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Israel to call for the end of the Gaza War and a deal to secure the hostages held by Hamas.

The biggest crowd was seen on Tel Aviv’s “complex square” on Sunday, with organizers saying that the government’s plans to take control of Gaza is at risking the lives of about 20 hostages still held by Hamas.

One -day national strike – part of wider protests – closed roads, offices and universities in some areas. Nearly 40 people were arrested during the day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticizes the protests, saying they will “harden Hamas’s position” and only delay the hostage’s release.

The distant minister of Israeli, the unleashed, also denied the protests, describing them as a “harmful campaign that plays in the hands of Hamas”.

The national strike was requested by the families of hostages and others opposed to the expansion of war.

Aynav Zangaucker, the mother of the hostage Matan and a leading figure in the hostage forum and the missing families, said the group demanded “a complete and achievable agreement and termination of war.”

“We demand what is rightly ours – our children,” she told the Tel Aviv crowd. “The Israeli government has turned a fair war into a senseless war.”

She spoke after a video was released from her son.

“My heart is burning with longing. My whole heart is burned because of my Matan. Matan, I, a whole nation, do everything we can for you, for all hostages,” she said.

The protests came a week after the Israeli military cabinet voted to occupy the city of Gaza, the largest city on the territory and displaced its population, in the course of the UN Security Council.

Since then, thousands have fled from the southern Gaza City neighborhood in City, where days of continuous Israeli bombing have created a “catastrophic” situation, the Hamas city municipality told the BBC.

At least 40 people were killed by Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday, the Gaza Civil Protection Agency said.

Hamas said in a statement that Israeli forces had made a “sustainable offensive in the eastern and southern quarters of Gaza, especially in Zeitoun”.

The Israeli military said they would begin to allow the tents to be re -introduced into gas agencies.

“As part of the preparation for the relocation of the population from the combat zones in the southern Gaza for their protection, the delivery of tents and the shelter to the Gaza will resume,” said the Israeli military body when.

Israel plans to force a million people from the city of Gaza to camps to the south, but has not provided an accurate schedule when his powers will enter the city of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been reported to want the whole city under Israeli occupation since October 7th.

At least 1.9 million people in gas – or about 90% of the population – have already been displaced, according to the UN.

The international authority said that there is wide malnutrition in Gaza, with experts supported by the organization warning last month in a report that the “worst scenario” of hunger is being played in the tape.

The Gaza War was triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel, with about 1,200 people killed and saw 251 other hostages taken.

Israel’s offensive has died over 61,000 Palestinians, according to figures from the Hamas Gaza Health Ministry, which the UN considers to be reliable.