By Said Amori
JERUSALEM (AA) – Thousands of people on Saturday protested across Israel against the current government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding a hostage swap deal with Palestinian group Hamas.
Thousands of Israelis began to gather in Kaplan Square, in central Tel Aviv, to participate in the main demonstration demanding a hostage swap deal, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.
The newspaper said police used trucks to close the streets surrounding Kaplan Square, preventing protesters from reaching the gathering to participate.
Thousands of Israelis also demonstrated near Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea (north), demanding his resignation, the daily said.
Protesters accused Netanyahu of being "guilty" in the current situation and demanded that his government immediately finalize a deal to free hostages held in Gaza.
Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Rehavot (central), the Kiryat Gat intersection, Haifa (north), and other cities across the country demanding a hostage swap deal, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.
Protests across the country are expected to pick up pace in the coming hours, local media reported.
Qatar, Egypt, and the US are trying to reach a hostage swap deal and a cease-fire in Gaza, as the first pause lasted only a week in late November last year, which resulted in limited aid entering the Gaza Strip, as well as exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and children detained in Israeli jails.
Tel Aviv currently holds at least 9,100 Palestinian prisoners in its jails, while there are an estimated 134 Israeli hostages in Gaza. Hamas has announced the death of 70 of them in random Israeli airstrikes.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.
More than 32,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, in addition to mass destruction, displacement and famine conditions.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala