Tel Aviv hostage rally broken up as police search for ‘suspicious person’

A planned candle-lighting and sit-in for hostages in Tel Aviv has been broken up due to security concerns, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says.

Police say they are conducting “wide searches” after receiving a report of a suspicious person in the Tel Aviv area, but provide no other details.

A video shared online shows an officer on a megaphone asking participants to leave in an orderly fashion due to a “security incident.”

תגידו, מישהו השתגע?!
חשש לאירוע ביטחוני בגזרת תל אביב -יפו?!
יש מישהו אחראי שיכול לעדכן את תושבי תל אביב מה קורה?! יש ילדים ברחובות והורים מודאגים! @IL_police pic.twitter.com/AxcWbY2mJX

— ????️????????חגית קלימן – Hagit Klaiman????????????️???? (@klaiman14) December 25, 2024

Thousands of people dressed in white, including mothers and daughters of hostages, had gathered outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv for the sit-in, which had been scheduled to end at 6 p.m. with a ceremonial lighting of the first candle of Hanukkah. Instead, organizers say the candle-lighting will take place at Beit Ariella, a nearby municipal building.