Protesters continued to demonstrate outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Monday, demanding the return of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
The protests began Saturday night, as police deployed trucks to block the roads and prevent demonstrators from reaching the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“I’m here because there’s nothing else I can do,” said one protestor. “I’m not one of the fighters. The people sleeping in the tents, they’re the true fighters.”
Last Thursday, Kulanu Hatufim, a group of hostage families and activists who regularly demonstrate at Begin Gate, issued a call for protests.
"A nation will stand, brokenhearted but breathing, for the implementation of the agreement,” the group's statement read.
On Saturday night, hundreds gathered outside the Kirya, using megaphones and lighting bonfires to deliver their message. “It was horrible,” said one protestor. “I’m scared and terrified that the hostages that are still alive and waiting in the tunnels won’t make it.”
“I saw a live broadcast of the protest, which said that it was cold here at night, so I decided to bring mattresses and sleeping bags to help,” said Yvgeny, a resident of Tel Aviv. “Tonight, I plan to join in.”
Trump cares more than our prime minister
“We feel like the only man we can trust is Trump at the moment,” said another demonstrator, who attends protests every week. “It’s an absolute shame that we need to look to a foreign government and billionaires to care for our citizens instead of our own government. Trump cares a lot more than our own Prime Minister. It’s insane.”
“I try to be here every day,” said Ilat, who was holding a sign with a photograph of Guy Illuz, the son of a close friend of hers who was kidnapped from the Nova Festival on October 7. “This is who we are, this is our basic commitment to our Israeli identities. If we don’t fight for this, we give up on all of our values.”
Demonstrators traveled from all over the country to attend the protest, from Haifa to Kiryat Gat.
“Operation Surround the Kirya”
“We will send a clear message to the government and the [IDF] chief of staff – you will not bury our children,” said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is still held hostage in Gaza.
“After the protest [outside the Kirya], we will go on 'Operation Surround the Kirya' – the place from which Netanyahu will direct the renewal of the war and cabinet meetings. We will sit together outside the gates, and we will not move.”
“We will not stop, and we will not let up until an agreement has been undertaken in full. And this time, everyone all at once,” she added.
Among the organizations who joined the call for the protest were Changing Direction, Standing Together, the Hi-Tech Protest Crime Minister, The Academia Protest, and Unxeptable, among others.