Hundreds of protestors are continuing Monday, March 10, to hold a sit-in outside Defense Ministry and Israeli army headquarters in Tel Aviv, after protesters camped out at the site overnight as part of a campaign to pressure the far-right government to make a deal to free all the remaining hostages.
Protestors take shifts, some spend the night in tents on the street, others join in the morning and afternoon. The protestors, who man the vigil in shifts, are joined by protesters from the female-led movement Shift 101, including Einav Zangauker, Anat Angrest and Viki Cohen, all of them mothers of hostage men who accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning their sons.
On Saturday night, several thousands of people demonstrated for the return of hostages and protest against the far-right government across the country. The relatives of hostages’ plan to spend several days outside Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv
In Tel-Aviv, the rally at the army headquarters drew some 5,000 participants, among them MK Ofer Cassif and several Hadash and Communist Party of Israel members, after an earlier anti-government protest at Habima Square who had drawn hundreds of activists, who chanted “the country is ours, not Netanyahu” and “it won’t end until Bibi is arrested.”
“Stop the war,” demonstrators protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages outside the army headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025 (Photo: Tomer Neuberg / Flash90)
Earlier, at their weekly press conference in Tel Aviv, a group of hostage families assail Netanyahu, accusing him of sabotaging talks on the second phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal for his own interests, warning that renewed fighting will kill the remaining living captives.
“We are in an emergency, and we mustn’t be blinded by reports: the war could resume this week,” says Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza. Zangauker adds that the continuation of war is in the only prime minister’s interest, as it would allow him to extend his ongoing criminal trial, put off a state commission of inquiry into the handling of the war, and maintain his far-right government with his racist allies.
Yifat Calderon, the cousin of Ofer Calderon, who was released last month in the deal, accuses Netanyahu of halting negotiations for the second phase of the deal. “Netanyahu is prepared to bury the hostages for his personal and criminal interests,” she says.
Omri Lifshitz says the fate of his captive father, veteran peace activist and journalist Oded, whose body was returned last month, “cannot be allowed to happen again to other hostages.” “Netanyahu — if the war is renewed, hostages will be killed because of you. Their blood will be on your hands,” he said.
At night, cops blocked roads with trucks to prevent demonstrators from reaching all the entrances to the military headquarters in Tel Aviv. At a Begin Road rally outside the headquarters, police created a dangerous crush of people by deploying officers and placing trucks which reports said penned participants into a small area. Several elderly people were almost trampled, Zo Haderekh reported. Police were accused of beating demonstrators who tried to get past the barriers to leave. Footage shared on social media showed some protesters crawling beneath the parked trucks — often used by police for crowd control — to leave the area.
