Demonstrations calling for hostage deal held in Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities

Along with the mass demonstration in Tel Aviv, protests staged in cities around the country demanding an immediate hostage release deal are drawing thousands of demonstrators.

Hundreds if not thousands participate in protests in Jerusalem and Haifa, with demonstrators leading a procession through Haifa holding up a banner declaring “Whoever abandons one life is as if they have abandoned the whole world,” referencing a Talmudic saying that someone who saves one life is as if they have saved an entire world.

In Ness Ziona, the grandfather of hostage Naama Levy addresses a demonstration for an immediate hostage release deal, while other protesters engage in performance art, with two women dressed up as bound and blindfolded hostages with a banner behind them reading “What if this was your daughter.”

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, who joined the government shortly after the October 7 attack but resigned two months ago in protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s management of the war, attends a rally at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and speaks with protesters.

Other demonstrations are held in Hadera, Kiryat Tivon, Karmiel Junction in northern Israel, in Caesarea outside Netanyahu’s private residence, and in numerous other locales around the country.

In Jerusalem, demonstrators chant “No security, no economy, bring down the government,” Ynet reports.