Anti-war protesters arrested for pouring red paint outside IDF chief’s house
Standing Together activists urge Zamir to refuse orders to occupy Gaza; left-wing group says 8 arrested over vandalism, which is condemned across the aisle but backed by MK Odeh
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Police arrested several anti-war activists who poured buckets of red paint on the street and an adjacent wall outside the home of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, in Hod Hasharon on Thursday, police and protesters said.
Dozens of left-wing protesters gathered earlier in the day outside the IDF chief’s home, demanding he refuse to carry out any plans to occupy the Gaza Strip as the government advances an operation to take over Gaza City.
Demonstrators held a banner with Zamir’s face that read: “You are against the occupation of Gaza, the time has come to refuse,” referencing leaked comments attributed to the IDF chief calling for Israel to instead accept a hostage-ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group.
Before the plan to conquer Gaza City was approved, the military chief was widely said to object to government plans to take over the entire Strip, saying this would endanger the lives of the remaining hostages. This drew ire from Defense Minister Israel Katz and others in the government.
The paint symbolizes “the rivers of blood that will be spilled if Israel moves to reoccupy Gaza, endanger the hostages and kill innocents,” said the Standing Together movement in a statement. The Israeli-Palestinian shared society group said it was joined by the “Soldiers Supporting Hostages” organization.
According to police, officers from the Kfar Saba station arrested five demonstrators who “caused damage to a street and a building.” Protesters from the Standing Together movement said that three additional women were arrested an hour after the demonstration, making a total of eight arrests as a result of the incident.
גם אייל זמיר יודע – רק מיעוט קיצוני מרוויח וכולנו משלמים בדם! חייבים לסרב לבצע פשעי מלחמה ולהפקיר את החטופים!
תעצרו, תנסו להשתיק אותנו, לא נעצור עד הסוף של ההשמדה וההפקרה ועד שממשלת המוות תעוף לנו מהחיים! חתמו וחזקו את מי שבחרו באומץ לסרב – https://t.co/vJTZh29KJC pic.twitter.com/gbZ4mShGy3
— עומדים ביחד نقف معًا Standing Together???? (@omdimbeyachad) August 28, 2025
They claimed that one of the women arrested after the protest did not partake in the demonstration and was detained because she and two others drove home in the car used to bring the paint to Zamir’s residence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later condemned the vandalism.
“The IDF, led by its chief, is working morally and determinedly to defeat Hamas and to bring back all of our hostages, and any attempt to harm him must be condemned,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
The prime minister called on law enforcement to “bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz also denounced the vandalism, calling it “a red line.”
“I strongly condemn the violent protesters who vandalized the home of the chief of staff, who works day and night to defend the State of Israel,” Katz said. “I expect law enforcement to bring the offenders to justice and punish them to the fullest extent.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the “vulgarity and call to refuse orders,” saying in a statement that protests should be aimed at elected officials outside their offices, “without dragging the IDF and its commanders into the political arena.”
Lapid, Gantz condemn protest; Ayman Odeh backs it
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid posted that he, too, “strongly condemns” the demonstrators, writing on X that they were “a handful of extremist radicals” and that: “We stand behind the IDF, its commanders and soldiers.”
MK Benny Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff himself who chairs the opposition Blue and White-National Unity party, said in a statement: “The IDF chief of staff is leading the IDF with dedication and responsibility. Harm to him and his family is harm to all IDF fighters, to our soldiers and our national resilience. Spraying his house with red paint is not a protest and is not criticism — it’s just crazy.”
By contrast, Hadash party leader MK Ayman Odeh wrote: “I do not condemn the Standing Together action outside the home of IDF Chief of Staff Zamir.”
“On the contrary, I support this action. I support a stop to this war of destruction, a comprehensive deal, and any step to stop the continuing cycle of violence,” he posted on X.
Last month, 73 lawmakers tried to expel Odeh from the Knesset over controversial statements the top Arab lawmaker made over the course of the Gaza war, including a tweet that he was “happy for the release of hostages and prisoners,” amid a deal with Hamas that saw Israeli captives freed in exchange for Palestinian inmates, including terror convicts, and a statement at a protest that “Gaza has won and Gaza will win.”
The Times of Israel Community.