Saturday night protests resume after two-week hiatus due to war with Iran

Organizers of rally for hostages say 12-day war created ‘historical window of opportunity’ to reach deal for the release of all captives held by Hamas

Weekly protests throughout the country demanding a deal to free hostages still in Gaza were set to take place Saturday evening, as were anti-government rallies, after demonstrations were paused for two weeks due to Israel’s war with Iran and the prohibition on large gatherings due to repeated missile attacks.

Organizers of the main hostage rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, outside the Tel Aviv Museum, put out a statement ahead of the event calling for people to attend “in the wake of the operation in Iran and the historical window of opportunity” to reach a deal.

There has been much talk in recent days of Jerusalem and Washington making a push to end the war in Gaza in the coming weeks with a deal that will see the return of all 50 remaining hostages, though there is no official confirmation.

“This is the time to finish the mission, reach a full deal and thus ensure a complete Israeli victory,” organizers said. “The achievements in Iran and other fronts have created historic momentum to bring home all 50 hostages. The time of partial deals is over! The time has come to end the fighting and to bring everyone home at once.”

Speakers at Saturday’s rally will include Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker and one of the most outspoken of hostage family members; Ruby Chen, the father of IDF soldier Itay Chen, whose body is being held in Gaza; Sharon Aloni Cunio, a former hostage whose husband, David, remains in captivity; Ilan Dalal, the father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal; and Liri Albag, a former hostage who was released in January.

On Thursday, the first in-person rally since the war with Iran began was held at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, with thousands in attendance.

A banner hanging on a building destroyed by an Iranian missile reads, “Imagine that out of 251 entrapped people, 50 would be abandoned.” (X screenshot used in accordance with article 27a of the Copyright Law)

All the speakers at that protest were women, most of them mothers of soldiers in Gaza who highlighted their plight amid the ongoing war. It came a day after the IDF announced that seven soldiers had been killed in Khan Younis.

The families of hostages held in Gaza are working with senior US government officials to organize a meeting with US President Donald Trump next week, Channel 12 reported Thursday.

The apparent push to meet Trump came amid several media reports that said the US President was pushing Netanyahu to conclude the war against Hamas following the success of the 12-day war against Iran.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, including 49 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.

Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March, and one additional hostage, a dual American-Israeli citizen, in May as a “gesture” to the United States. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 jailed Palestinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazan terror suspects detained during the war.

Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity alive by troops, and the bodies of 49 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.