Thousands of Jews and Arab protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday afternoon, calling for an end to the war and to prevent the growing hunger in the Gaza Strip. Gathering at Habima Square, demonstrators held signs reading “Stop the genocide” and displayed photos of Palestinian children suffering from malnutrition. Chants included: “Enough with the genocide,” “From Gaza to Jenin – stop killing children, “”We won’t die in the service of the settlements,” “We won’t die in the service of the US interests” and “In Gaza and Sderot, children want to live.”
Activists protest in Tel Aviv demanding an end to the war in Gaza and against genocide and starvation, Saturday, August 23, 2025 (Photo: Erik Marmor/Flash90)
The protest was organized by the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, the umbrella body representing Arab citizens in Israel, with the participation of Hadash, Partnership for Peace and dozens of peace and human rights organizations, among them Peace Now, Democratic Women Movement in Israel, Breaking the Silence, Looking the Occupation in the Eye, Combatants for Peace, Academia for Equality, Standing Together and the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum.
Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman took to X to share images of the anti-war protest, writing: “Here at Habima Square, despite attempts to silence and subjugate us, thousands of voices are crying out: End the war of destruction and starvation immediately! The establishment can revoke permits, but the moral stand for life, justice and equality doesn’t need a permit, it only demands that you be a human being,” she wrote. After the gathering she added. “I came back home from the demonstration organized by the High Follow Up Committee of the Arabs and the Partnership for Peace. Still moved deeply by the thousands who came, Jews and Palestinian Arabs, citizens who brought their demand to stop the genocide and starvation policy and the release of hostages. In these dark days there is still hope that we do not lose our humanity, respect for human lives, and with this we will continue to struggle for justice for the people in Gaza and for all.”
Police on Thursday threatened to revoke the permit for the protest and a march that was planned alongside it, citing “the excess of events” the police already had to cover, and demanded attendance be capped at 500 people rather than 5,000. Following the cancellation of the permit, committee chair Mohammad Barakeh accused authorities of trying to silence Arab opposition to the war. A Hadash activist from the Galilee was arrested for “suspected incitement” as the protest was dispersing, and officers shut down the demonstration soon after the protesters started to thin out.
On Saturday evening, families of hostages held in Gaza issued warnings during nationwide protests against plans for the Israeli military to occupy Gaza City, while a limited cease-fire and hostage deal that Hamas has agreed to remains on the table.
Einav Zangauker, mother of the hostage Matan, accused far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging the deal. “If the Gaza takeover begins, there will be no deal. The occupation of Gaza will collapse negotiations, and hostages and soldiers will die,” she said near Israel’s Defense Ministry. “People of Israel: we have only a few days to stop this. We must force Netanyahu to accept the deal and ensure he immediately reaches an agreement that will bring everyone home and end the war.”
Yehuda Cohen, father of the hostage Nimrod, said Netanyahu is misleading the public about his willingness to pursue a comprehensive deal. “Only a month ago, he looked families in the eye and said an all-in-one deal wasn’t possible,” he said Itzik Horn, whose son Eitan is still held hostage, “The government is being run by far-right extremists who see this period as miraculous and are willing to sacrifice Eitan and our children for messianic fantasies. I appeal to the people of Israel: you are our hope,” he said. Protests also take place in Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheva and more dozens other communities and intersections across Israel.
In addition, protesters against war and supporting a deal for the release of the hostages demonstrated against racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Saturday. The demonstrators, holding up photographs of the hostages, yelled at the minister who was on his way to the synagogue in the central Israel town of Kfar Malal. “You’re torpedoing the deal,” one protester said. Another yelled out, “You’re a historic failure, a terrorist, a criminal.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32955
