Police deny accusation they prevented detained protesters from sheltering amid missile siren

Responding to accusations that officers prevented detained protesters from sheltering during a Houthi missile attack on Tel Aviv, police say they transported them to a “safer location.”

This evening, police arrested 17 demonstrators on suspicion of disorderly conduct at Habima Square, while forcibly dispersing a protest against the government and the ongoing war.

Police accuse demonstrators of violating a High Court order handed down just as a crowd began gathering at the square, which forbade police from breaking up any protest in the location with fewer than 600 participants.

Once tonight’s protest exceeded this number, police say they declared it illegal and began dispersing the crowd, leading to clashes. Seventeen protesters were arrested and placed onto a bus near Habima.

During the commotion, protesters and officers received early warning of a missile attack from Yemen’s Houthis.

Detained protesters on the bus urged police to allow them to descend to a large shelter under the public square, however police instead brought them to a nearby building due to “significant congestion leading to the protected area beneath Habima Square.”

“Officers acted swiftly in relocating the bus to a position between buildings and evacuating the detainees to a safer location, all while risking their own lives,” police say in a statement.

They add that “police officers and mounted units were forced to remain outside protected areas, even after the sirens, due to severe congestion at entrances to shelters.”

However footage from tonight shows the protesters in a room that does not appear to be protected, due to its glass windows and doors.

המשטרה לא אפשרה ל 16 עצורים באוטובוס לרדת למרחב המוגן בהבימה – האוטובוס נסע והוריד אותם בחדר של בניין מלא חלונות

תל אביב 04/04/2026 @AtzurimHafganot pic.twitter.com/audVAobrAi

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) April 4, 2026

“There is glass here, glass there… there is no security whatsoever,” one of the detained protesters says in the room.

Another detainee accuses police of transporting the group to the building only after sirens began, as opposed to when the early warning was received.

The exact time at which the bus left Habima Square remains unclear and police have not responded to a request for comment on the matter.