By Dan Sabbagh
TEL AVIV - Dozens of people attended a noisy fringe protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday night outside the Israeli military’s headquarters, protesting against the renewed bombardment on Gaza that they blame for the halt in the release of the estimated 130 hostages still held by Hamas.
The group gathered after the regular weekly rally demanding the release of all the hostages held by Hamas, and marched around the Israel Defense Force’s Kirya military base demanding an urgent meeting with the country’s war cabinet and pressing for a ceasefire.
Noam Shuster-Eliassi, a comedian who was part of the smaller protest, said the decision to continue the war, which restarted on Friday, was “putting these families [of hostages] in misery. What is their plan? Is it just continuing bombardment in Gaza?”
Many of those participating, she said, were anti-war activists, trying to “do everything we can to stop this criminal government”, but she added that in the current situation “the minimum we can do is be with the hostage families”.
Shuster-Eliassi argued that only political efforts and diplomatic agreements could keep people alive. She said: “The only reason why some people here have oxygen and some energy in our bodies was because of the few days’ ceasefire where we saw families reunite and we knew that people in Gaza are not being bombarded.”
It was the first time the families of some of those who had been abducted had come together with other activists. Those speaking included Yael Adar, whose 38-year-old son, Tamir, remains held by Hamas, although her 85-year-old mother-in-law, Yaffa, was released more than a week ago.
The follow-on protest ended abruptly when sirens warned of a rocket attack from Gaza aimed at the Tel Aviv area, forcing demonstrators to shelter under a bridge amid distant bangs from interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system.
Another anti-government protest took place at Caesarea, where Benjamin Netanyahu’s estate is located. Eran Litman, the father of Oriya, who was murdered at the Nova music festival, was among those calling for his resignation.
