Thousands of protesters gathered Saturday evening, November 30, for a hostage release deal and cease-fire in Gaza across Israel, after Hamas released a video of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander in captivity. His mother, Yael, spoke at the main rally in Tel Aviv.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, says that it is “impossible to hold back the tears” after watching the video released by Hamas which Alexander “begs to return home,” and attacked the far-right government.

“We will not die for settlements,” Peace Now activists at Begin Road demonstration in Tel-Aviv, November 30, 2024 (Photo: Peace Now)
“A government that does not put a new initiative on the table for a deal and an end to the war to bring back Edan and the other hostages is a government that betrays the hostages and their families, and sacrifices them to their deaths in captivity,” Zangauker says at the massive demonstration held in front of the Israeli army headquarters at Begin Road in Tel-Aviv. “This week, the prime minister signed a deal for an end to the war in Lebanon. How can it be that Netanyahu signs a deal for the north but prevents a deal for the end of the war in the South?”
Zangauker continues: “The only way to return all the hostages is through stopping the war in Gaza as part of a one-time deal, but Netanyahu, [Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich are rushing to pave roads and build settlements on top of the hostages who are rotting in the tunnels.”
“After 421 days of war, it’s clear to everyone: only a deal will bring the hostages home,” said the Hostages Families Forum in a press release ahead of the rally on Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, a block away from the Begin Road demonstration. After the two protests, thousands marched “in defense of democracy and against dictatorship” to Dizengoff Square in central Tel Aviv, alongside several prominent anti-government activists.
Other protests and rallies were held in cities across the country, with the notable exception of Caesarea, near the private home of Netanyahu, where some of the most intense protests have been held over the past 14 months. Organizers halted the Caesarea protests last week after it became clear that Netanyahu no longer spends time in the coastal city and gathered in the protest in Jerusalem. Other rallies were held in Haifa, Kiryat Gat, the south’s Shaar HaNegev Junction, Kafr Sava, the northern Gomeh Junction at the Upper Galilee – for first time in 14 months, Eilat, Beersheva, Natanya, Carmiel and Ofakim. In Karkur cops arrested four activists who blocked route 65. Now, all rallies for the hostages demanded the end of the deadly war in Gaza and are accompanied by anti-government protests.
On last Friday, Partnership for Peace protesters, among them Hadash and Communist Party of Israel activists, gathered across Israel against war and occupation on Friday, November 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. They reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights, including the right to live in peace, security, and dignity. Demonstrators held banners with messages such as “Stop the War,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Stop the Massacre.” The protesters said: “Just as the Israeli government stopped its fire in Lebanon, it can also stop the fire in Gaza.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32286