Hundreds protest in Jerusalem, calling to push forward with Gaza war until Hamas defeated

Hundreds of protesters calling for the continuation of Israel’s war in Gaza march to the Knesset in Jerusalem. They are led by wounded soldiers, alongside bereaved families of soldiers and hostage families from the right-wing Tikvah Forum.

“We’ve come to deliver a clear message: there is no other way, Hamas must be defeated. Only victory will bring true security to the residents of the south, the Gaza border communities, and the citizens of Israel,” declares Lt. Col. Itamar Eitam, a reservist brigade commander, outside Shaare Zedek Hospital before the march sets out to the Knesset.

“The prices we paid, with our limbs, the scars we bear, the blood of our comrades, these cannot be wasted with retreats. It is our duty to bring the hostages home and crush Hamas,” he continues.

Ofir Engelsman, a soldier who lost his leg in a car-ramming attack in Hebron, tells the crowd that he would have “been willing to lose the other if he knew it would lead to total victory.”

“This is my demand of the prime minister: to finish this war to the end. To erase Hamas and achieve victory,” he says.

Police do not report any arrests over the course of today’s march.