Protesters gathered on Saturday, August 30, nationwide against the war, occupation of Gaza City and for a deal with Hamas. The massive rally was held at Hostages Square, with tens of thousands supporting the hostage families’ call for an immediate deal to bring home all hostages and end the war.
Actor Lior Ashkenazi addressed the political stalemate: “Hamas is ready for a deal, Netanyahu makes demands, Hamas accepts them, Netanyahu calls it off. In the last six months, not a single hostage has come home alive … Maybe it’s just us, the people, who can stop the war. The civilians are calling, enough!”
Dozens of teens gathered Saturday morning outside military Prison 10 calling for the release of all political prisoners, including the five refuseniks that are currently jailed. Police arrested three protesters, two of them members of the Youth Communist League of Israel, August 30, 2025 (Photo: Joss Flomm)
Thousands gathered in Haifa and one of the speakers at the demonstration, Boaz Zalmanovitz son of Aryeh Zalmanovitz whose body is held in Gaza said, “The government deliberately and knowingly sentenced the living hostages to death. Military pressure may allow some of the fallen hostages to recover, but it will cause those who survived to be murdered. This is as clear as sunlight that doesn’t reach the tunnels.”
Demonstrations are also taking place in Jerusalem where police attacked protestors against war and starvation blocking the street near Paris Square, activists also blocked the main avenue at the southern city of Be’er Sheva, as well as in dozens of communities and on main roads across the country. Hadash MK Ayman Odeh spoke at the demonstration at Gomeh Junction in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon. “In Gaza, tens of thousands of children are dead and orphaned. In Israel, there are victims of the war. End the war of destruction and starvation, now!” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, speaking at outside army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv ahead of a rally for the hostages, Einav Zangauker, the mother of the hostage Matan, addressed far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement on behalf of families of hostages “If Matan returns in a bag, not only will he and I pay the price, but I will personally ensure that [Netanyahu] is charged with premeditated murder.” Zangauker warned that if Netanyahu chooses to pursue an occupation of the Gaza Strip instead of the current hostage deal framework, her son will not survive. “The only way to secure a comprehensive deal and end the war is through public pressure,” she said. “My Matan hears you, the hostages hear you – take to the streets, protest for their sake.”
On Saturday morning, dozens of teens gathered outside Military Prison 10 calling for the release of all political prisoners, including the five refuseniks that are currently jailed. Police and military personnel tried to stop and arrested three protesters, two of them members of the Youth Communist League of Israel (Banki).
Israeli press reports about the highest rate of refusal seen in the country’s history. This comes as the occupation army sent out over 60,000 new draft orders to man its occupation of Gaza. According to one young Communist protester at Military Prison, “The fascist government’s plans are a desperate attempt to keep the war going as they send endless draft notices, all while more and more people are publicly and silently refusing and hitting the streets. As Israel desperately attempts to draft more soldiers into the military in its planned occupation of Gaza, we expect to see more refusers coming forward.”
“The effort in war is losing popular support and cities across Israel, demonstrations are ongoing, not just in Tel Aviv. Many are realizing that they cannot just chant against war. They are realizing they must refuse to participate in it. Our numbers are growing as refusal becomes more mainstream than ever. Over 350 people have refused publicly and according to press reports, thousands have refused silently,” he said.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32958
