Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Sunday night to call for a ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to the Israel police.
An estimated 300,000 demonstrators initially gathered at the Kaplan junction for a legal protest.
After the official demo ended, however, hundreds blocked traffic on the Ayalon Highway, the city’s major thoroughfare. They lit bonfires and launched fireworks at the police.
Protesters took to the streets after the announcement on Sunday morning that Israeli forces had recovered the bodies of six hostages from a Hamas tunnel in Rafah in southern Gaza overnight Saturday.
The hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Almog Sarusi, 25, Alexander Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino, 25, were captured during the Hamas-led attack on October 7.
According to the Israel Defence Forces, the six were killed by their captors shortly before being reached by Israeli troops.
There are still 101 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Centrist politicians blamed the Israeli government for the hostages’ deaths, with opposition leader Yair Lapid calling for a general strike to pressure the coalition into a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
The Histadrut labour federation, which represents some 800,000 Israeli trade unionists, on Sunday declared a general strike starting at 6 am on Monday, shutting down large sectors of the economy. The strike is set to last for 24 hours, but may be extended.
At the request of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu, the state filed a petition on Monday morning against Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar–David.
