Israeli hostage deal protests

Israeli hostage deal protests
Israeli hostage deal protests
Part of Gaza war protests in Israel
	Top to bottom, left to right: September 2024 Israel hostage deal protests; Demonstration against the dismissal of defense minister Yoav Gallant; Israeli protesters light a bonfire on Ayalon highway;
Date	November 2023 – January 2026
Location	Israel, mainly: HaKirya Kaplan Interchange; Hostages Square; ; Jerusalem Knesset building; Beit Aghion; ;
Caused by	Refusal of Benjamin Netanyahu to announce a ceasefire and prisoner exchange; Proposed Israeli resettlement of the Gaza Strip; Gaza Strip famine;
Methods	Demonstrations, civil disobedience, civil resistance, online activism, riots, hunger strikes
Resulted in	End of Gaza war hostage crisis Last hostage body recovered in January 2026;
Parties
Protesters (anti-government, pro-hostage deal) Hostages and Missing Families Forum; Kaplan Force; We Are All Hostages; Black Flag; Brothers in Arms; Standing Together; UnXeptable; Hofshi Beartzenu; Women Wage Peace; Movement for Quality Government in Israel; Opposition of Israel The Democrats; Yesh Atid;	Cabinet of Israel Likud; Otzma Yehudit; Religious Zionist Party; United Torah Judaism; Shas; Supported by:; Counter-protesters (pro-government)
Einav Zangauker; Yair Golan; Gilad Kariv; Naama Lazimi; Gonen Ben Itzhak; Yair Lapid;	Benjamin Netanyahu; Itamar Ben-Gvir;
Casualties
Injuries	35+ protesters (2 critically); 15 police officers
Arrested	1,289+
Detained	4

Israeli hostage deal protests were a series of demonstrations, instances of civil disorder, and riots that have taken place in Israel against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, primarily in response to the handling of the Gaza war and the hostage crisis. The protests aimed to pressure Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire and reach a hostage deal. The protests began sporadically at the onset of the war but have grown significantly in size and intensity, culminating in massive gatherings across various Israeli cities.

On 1 September 2024, following the discovery of six hostages killed in the Gaza Strip, protest organizations declared a nationwide strike and day of demonstrations, with more than 500,000 people participating across Israel and abroad to demand a hostage deal. A subsequent strike was announced on 17 August 2025, drawing hundreds of thousands of demonstrators.