Gaza war: Israelis protest government conflict response

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv and occupied Jerusalem on Saturday, as criticism intensifies against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a result of his government's brutal response, following the October 7 attacks and its handling of the ensuing hostage crisis.

The attacks by Hamas led to more than 1,400 people killed- with 240 more taken hostage, according to Israeli forces.

Israel's devastating air, ground and sea bombardment followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, has killed nearly 9,500 Palestinians. according to the Palestinian health ministry.

In Tel Aviv, several thousand protesters took to the streets on Saturday evening, including relatives and friends of some of the hostages, chanting: "Bring them home now".

Meanwhile, in occupied Jerusalem, hundreds came together outside Netanyahu's residence with more explicit calls for his resignation.

Waving blue and white Israeli flags and chanting "Jail now!", a crowd in the hundreds pushed through police barriers around Netanyahu's residence in occupied Jerusalem.

Now in Tel Aviv Israeli left wing activists protest against the war and calling for a ceasefire pic.twitter.com/DIFW4LIaIX

— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_) November 4, 2023

The protest, which coincided with a poll showing more than three quarters of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign, underlined the growing public fury at their political and security leaders.

The premier, who has led Israel for nearly 16 of the past 27 years, is still fighting three corruption cases in court.

The nine months leading up to October 7 saw mass protests over his far-right government's controversial judicial reforms.

Additionally, Netanyahu's attempts to circumvent Palestinian territory have reported to reaffirm his government's longstanding policies of violence, expulsions, and settlement expansion for Palestinians.