Video: Demonstrators demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resignation in Tel Aviv.
Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding a hostage deal in Gaza.
The rallies in Tel Aviv and other cities came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the body of hostage Elad Katsir.
According to local media, protesters chanted “elections now” and “I'm sorry, Elad.”
Police then forcibly dispersed the crowd in Tel Aviv.
Anti-government protesters were also joined by families of hostages held in Gaza. The demonstrators expressed frustration at the government's failure to free the approximately 130 hostages held by Hamas and his allies in Gaza.
Early Saturday morning, the Israel Defense Forces recovered the body of Elad Katzir, who was captured during a Hamas offensive on southern Israel on October 7 and taken to Gaza. He appeared to be alive in a hostage video released in January.
“Elad Katzir managed to survive three months in captivity. He should have been with us today. He could have been with us today,” said protester Noam Peri. told a BBC reporter.
Organizers said 100,000 people took part in the protests in Tel Aviv, but other statistics put the number of participants at around 45,000. The demonstration was the latest in a series of large anti-government demonstrations demanding Netanyahu's resignation amid anger over his failure to free the remaining hostages.
Five people were injured when a car plowed into a crowd during a protest in Tel Aviv. Police said the driver was arrested.
Some political leaders condemned the apparent ramming. Army Cabinet Secretary Benny Gantz called it “horrifying.”
On Sunday, exactly six months after a Hamas attack sparked war in Gaza, negotiators are scheduled to meet in Cairo to try to reach a ceasefire in the brutal war.
According to some media reports, CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will join the negotiating team of Egypt, Israel and Hamas.
In a social media post, Katsir's sister, Kermit Parti Katsir, blamed Israeli authorities for her brother's death and said he would have returned alive had a new ceasefire been agreed.
“Our leadership is cowardly and driven by political considerations. That's why this deal hasn't happened yet,” he said on Facebook.
“Prime Minister, War Cabinet and Coalition Members, look at yourself in the mirror and tell me if you see any blood on your hands.”
The October 7 Hamas attack killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Since then, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 33,000 people, many of them women and children, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry.
According to Israeli statistics, 253 Israelis and foreigners were taken away in the Hamas attack.
Approximately 129 hostages remain missing after being kidnapped. At least 34 of these people are estimated to have died. Twelve bodies were recovered by the IDF.
Israel keeps the official figure slightly higher because it includes four hostages taken in 2014 and 2015, two of whom are believed to have died.
