Hostage forum says it’s changing format of next week’s protest in effort to push for comprehensive deal

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announces it is changing the format of nationwide protest events originally planned for next Sunday, following reports of ongoing negotiations for a comprehensive hostage-release deal.

Instead of holding a mass rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, the forum says it will organize events across the country calling for an immediate agreement, with the large demonstration postponed to an undisclosed later date. The weekly Saturday night rally in Tel Aviv will still proceed as planned.

In a statement addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the forum says, “This is the last chance to sign an agreement for the return of the 50 hostages,” while expressing frustration that a security cabinet meeting has yet to be called this week on the matter.

The announcement comes after a day of massive protests this past Sunday, which some estimates put at over one million participants nationwide, including more than 500,000 in Tel Aviv alone. The rallies were accompanied by strikes at hundreds of local authorities, businesses, universities, and tech companies, though Israel’s central labor union, the Histadrut, did not join.

The protests were sparked by the cabinet’s recent decision to move forward with plans to conquer Gaza City, despite warnings from top security officials that such an operation could endanger the remaining hostages held by Hamas. The forum had called the previous demonstrations and strikes to pressure the government to end the war in exchange for the release of hostages.