By Said Amori
JERUSALEM (AA) - Five protesters were injured Saturday after being hit by a car driven by a “supporter” of Benjamin Netanyahu's government during demonstrations in central Tel Aviv, according to media reports.
The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the Ichilov Hospital announced the arrival of five patients among the protesters from to a car-ramming incident near Kaplan Square in downtown Tel Aviv.
It indicated that one of the protesters was moderately injured, while the others sustained minor injuries.
The newspaper said the perpetrator is “a supporter of Netanyahu,” but did not reveal his identity.
Police arrested the perpetrator.
Israeli activists shared footage of the incident on social media that showed clashes between the perpetrator and protesters.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said in a post on X that “the incident tonight in Kaplan is a direct result of incitement coming from (Netanyahu's) government and its venomous machine.”
Lapid added that “the police must deal with predators with the full force of the law.”
“We will not be intimidated and we will not stop protesting until the release of the detainees in Gaza, and the fall of this government,” he added.
Tel Aviv witnessed massive protests Saturday with tens of thousands demanding early elections and a hostage swap deal with Hamas.
Thousands also participated in protests in other cities, including Jerusalem, Haifa in the north and Rehovot in central Israel.
Earlier, the newspaper reported that police suppressed several protesters in Kaplan Square.
A policeman was injured with bruises after being beaten by a protester in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators set fires in various parts of the city, according to the newspaper.
Police arrested three protesters in Caesarea in the north on charges of "rioting" near Netanyahu's residence.
Throughout the past week, tens of thousands of Israelis protested in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem, calling for the resignation of Netanyahu's government and a hostage swap deal.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack in early October by the Palestinian group, Hamas, killed less than 1,200 people.
More than 33,100 Palestinians have since been killed and over 75,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala