From the Liveblog of
Saturday, May 24, 2025
Tel Aviv anti-government protesters rage at PM; Silent vigil for Gaza’s slain children swells in size
Anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters in front of the IDF headquarters on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road start clearing off as the protest winds down following angry speeches from a former hostage and the parents of young men still held captive in the Strip.
During the protest, smokestacks were lit and chants of “Why are they still in Gaza?” could be heard, accompanied by drumming.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, and Yehuda Cohen, father of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, repeat their accusations from earlier this evening that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is abandoning the hostages.
Referring to Netanyahu’s statement this week that Hamas used cheap equipment including “flip-flops amd Kalachnikovs” in the onslaught of October 7, 2023, Cohen says, incredulously, that the premier thinks “Nimrod’s tank was taken over with flip-flops.”
Zangauker says that instead of reaching a ceasefire-hostage deal, the government “will continue sending our troops to the front, to create settlements on the backs of our hostages. They’ll continue sabotaging the country and shirking responsibility.”
“In order to reach a deal that will release all the hostages, we have to kick out this government,” she says.
Matan’s partner, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released from Hamas captivity in the weeklong November 2023 truce, also speaks, demanding an end to the war and the return of the hostages. She tells the crowd she lost 11 kilograms (24 pounds) in captivity and was treated “like chattel that can be moved from place to place.”
The Begin Road protest, which appeared to draw over 1,000 people at its peak tonight, was bolstered by protesters from the earlier anti-government demonstration on Habima Square.
On Kaplan Street, in between the two protests, left-wing activists stood in silence, holding up candles and pictures of children killed by Israel in Gaza since the fighting renewed on March 18.
Most of the photos feature the name of the slain child, as well as the date and place of their death. By contrast, the entrance to Begin Road from Kaplan boasts a large protest display featuring the names of Israelis killed during the October 7 Hamas onslaught.
The silent anti-war demonstration, which positions itself outside the IDF headquarters’ south gate, was noticeably bigger this week than in past weeks, with about 400 participants standing on the sidewalk and the traffic island in the middle of the street, whereas previously, they stood only on the sidewalk.
This week’s Kaplan protest comes after The Democrats chair and former IDF deputy chief Yair Golan sparked controversy by saying Israel was “killing babies as a hobby in Gaza.”
The Times of Israel Community.