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tel aviv
'Stop the Genocide': Thousands of Israelis Rally Against War and Famine in Gaza
"We stood proud and tall together because there is nothing that will stop the just civilian resistance to the genocide and occupation," said one protester.
Aug 24, 2025
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday in multiple demonstrations demanding an end to their government's genocidal war and engineered famine in Gaza and a deal to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas since October 2023.
Israelis—both Arab and Jewish—rallied in Habima Square holding signs reading "Stop the Genocide" and photos of some of the at least 115 Palestinian children who have starved to death in what the world's leading authority on hunger has officially declared a full-blown famine.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that police initially prohibited protesters from holding photos of Gazan children or Israeli hostages and also banned use of the word "genocide," but then allowed such displays.
The protest was organized by the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee—an umbrella Arab Israeli advocacy group—with the participation of the Arab political parties Hadash, Balad, and Ta'al, and activist organizations including Peace Now, Breaking the Silence, Looking the Occupation in the Eye, and the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum.
Protesters implored the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off Operation Gideon's Chariots 2, the nascent campaign to conquer and occupy Gaza and ethnically cleanse 1 million Palestinians—approximately half the strip's population—and possibly confine them in a proposed concentration camp that would be built over the ruins of Rafah.
💥 #BREAKING | Today in Tel-Aviv: thousands protested against the genocide in Gaza. The protest included both Palestinian and Jewish activists.Chanting: "Gaza, Gaza, don't despair. We will end the occupation."
[image or embed]
— Resist 🕎🍉 (@antizionistjew.bsky.social) August 23, 2025 at 11:41 AM
"We only have a few days left to stop this, because if the invasion of Gaza begins there will be no deal," Yotam Cohen, brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, told the crowd. "The invasion will blow up the negotiations and hostages and soldiers will die."
"Instead of saving lives Netanyahu is sentencing the living hostages to death and causing the fallen to be lost forever," Cohen added. "He is condemning us to a needless eternal war, sending solders to their death."
Other demonstrators condemned Netanyahu for repeatedly sabotaging ceasefire deals in order to prolong the war and delay his criminal corruption trial.
Saturday's protests followed last week's massive nationwide demonstrations in which an estimated 1 million Israelis took part.
In addition to the demonstrations in Israel, at least tens of thousands of people rallied and marched in cities across Australia on Sunday to demand an end to the Gaza genocide and sanctions on Israel. The protests followed the Australian government's decision earlier this month to formally recognize Palestinian statehood.
"With Israel's announced ground invasion of Gaza, the call is clear: Australia must demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire, impose a two-way arms embargo, and act to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice," said Amnesty International, which backed the protests.
Despite Hamas' acceptance of a proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release, Netanyahu—a fugitive from the International Criminal Court wanted for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes—last week approved the invasion and occupation of Gaza City.
On Wednesday, Israeli Settlement Minister Orit Strook suggested that she and other Cabinet ministers "will vote to continue the war at the expense of the hostages' lives" and said that she would personally assent to the invasion and occupation of Gaza "even if it is clear that Hamas will execute the hostages."
The Gaza Health Ministry (GHM) said Sunday that Israeli forces killed scores more Palestinians across Gaza within the past 24 hours, including children and aid-seekers, as Operation Gideon's Chariots 2 ramped up, with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks advancing into the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City.
In addition to those killed by IDF bombs and bullets, health authorities said that eight more Palestinians, including two children, starved to death, bringing the famine death toll to at least 289, including 115 children. All told, the GHM says Israel's 688-day assault and siege on Gaza—which is the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case—has left at least 229,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing, with no end to the slaughter in sight.
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IDF Says 'All of Israel Is Under Fire' as Iran Retaliates With Missile Barrage
Video footage appeared to show Iranian missiles striking Tel Aviv as residents were warned to take cover in bomb shelters.
Jun 13, 2025
This is a developing news story... Please check back for possible updates...
Iran on Friday reportedly fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel, and smoke was seen rising from the city of Tel Aviv as Tehran began its retaliation for the large-scale attack that Israel's military committed just hours earlier.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on social media that "all of Israel is under fire." Minutes later, the IDF said that the "Iranian attack is ongoing," noting that "dozens of additional missiles were launched toward Israel."
The Israeli military instructed residents across the country to "remain close to protected spaces" and minimize "movement in public areas" until an all-clear is given. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Unnamed U.S. officials told the Associated Press that American military assets were being used to help the Israelis intercept incoming missiles from Iran, though the sources, according to the AP, "did not say how the U.S. provided assistance."
Video footage posted to social media appeared to show Iranian missiles hitting Tel Aviv as Israel's military worked to intercept the attack:
Another angle: pic.twitter.com/JRgp0f0qjU
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) June 13, 2025
The missile barrage came after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Israel to expect "harsh punishment" for its early Friday assault, which hit Iranian nuclear infrastructure and killed a top nuclear negotiator—an indication, according to expert observers and Iranian officials, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is bent on sabotaging any progress toward a U.S.-Iran nuclear agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who withdrew from a previous Iran nuclear accord during his first term in the White House, said Friday that Israel hit Iran "about as hard as you're going to get hit," adding: "There's more to come. A lot more."
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Hostage Families in Tel Aviv: 'Starting Tomorrow, the Country Will Tremble'
'Starting tomorrow, the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. The country will grind to a halt. The abandonment is over.'
Aug 31, 2024
Tens of thousands rallied across Israel on Saturday night, demanding a hostage deal and against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In Tel Aviv, tens of thousands of demonstrators, including relatives of those held hostage in Gaza, gathered at the Hostages Square for a rally demanding their loved ones’ return and pled with the prime minister and negotiating team to reach an agreement before time runs out. Roving groups of right-wing activists cursed and spat on the demonstrators.
Along with the mass demonstration in Tel Aviv, large protests were held in cities nationwide, drawing thousands of demonstrators.
Later Saturday night, the Israeli Defense Force announced it had located several bodies in the Gaza Strip, which might be the remains of Israeli hostages. “At this stage, the forces are still operating in the area and carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies, which will last several hours,” the military says.
After the IDF says it has found bodies in Gaza that possibly are of hostages, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a statement calling on the public to prepare to hold sweeping protests tomorrow.
“Netanyahu abandoned the hostages. It is now a fact. Starting tomorrow, the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. The country will grind to a halt. The abandonment is over.”
The Forum says it will provide further details tomorrow morning.
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Israel Bombs Yemen Saturday in Escalation with Houthis
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv
Jul 20, 2024
Houthi-run media say Israeli air strikes Saturday targeted oil storage facilities in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah and that there are an unspecified number of fatalities and injuries.
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person and struck just yards from a U.S. Embassy branch office.
Israel’s air strikes will not stop the Houthi's military operations in support of the Palestinian people, Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said in a post on X, warning they will instead increase until the war in Gaza ends. “The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting civilian facilities, and we will meet escalation with escalation,” al-Bukhaiti wrote.
Military and political analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera, “Is this going to change the course of action of a non-state actor that is motivated to support the people of Gaza? Certainly not,” Magnier said. “They’ve been given a perfect reason to increase the attacks. We have not seen the end of it – far from it,” he said.
In another post on X, the Houthis’ spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, called the Israeli air strikes “a brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen that aims to deepen people’s suffering and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.” Abdulsalam called the attack an Israeli “dream that will not come true. We affirm that this brutal aggression will only increase the determination of the Yemeni people and their valiant armed forces to be steadfast and to continue their support for Gaza. The Yemeni people are able to face all challenges for the sake of victory for oppressed Palestine and the people of Gaza, whose cause is the most just on earth.”
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'All Eyes on Rafah' as Global Protests Against Looming IDF Assault Continue
Demonstrators turned out from Cardiff to Tel Aviv as Palestinians in the Gaza city endured heavy Israeli bombing while bracing for an all-out ground invasion.
Feb 13, 2024
Global emergency protests against Israel's expected invasion of Rafah continued Tuesday, a day after demonstrators took to the streets of cities around the world to say "hands off" the southern Gaza city whose population has swelled more than fivefold due to the influx of Palestinian war refugees.
Hundreds of protesters turned out in the cold and rain of Cardiff, Wales Tuesday afternoon, with demonstrations planned for later in the day in cities including Manchester, England and Houston, Texas.
"We do not care if it is raining—it's raining bombs in Rafah over a million Palestinians, squeezed into an area barely the size of an airport," protest co-organizer Black Lives Matter Cardiff & Vale said on social media.
In Tel Aviv, a crowd of left-wing Israelis protested outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, holding signs with messages including "Stop Bombing Gaza" and "Stop Funding Genocide."
Tuesday's demonstrations followed Monday protests around the world including outside both the White House in Washington, D.C. and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's residence on Downing Street in London. Rallies and marches also took place in cities including Rome, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, and at U.S. President Joe Biden's campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, where 21 Sunrise Movement climate activists were arrested.
Airstrikes on Rafah are intensifying as the Israel Defense Forces appear poised to launch a major ground invasion of the besieged city on the Egyptian border. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and wounded in Rafah since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Friday order to the IDF to create an evacuation plan for the 1.5 million people in the city, most of them refugees from other parts of Gaza.
South African officials said Tuesday that Israel's bombing of Rafah and stated intent to invade the city are violations of the International Court of Justice's order for Israel to "take all measures within its power" to prevent acts of genocide. The court found in a preliminary ruling that Israeli forces were "plausibly" committing genocide, as alleged in the South Africa-led case.
The looming invasion of Rafah comes amid a wider war on Gaza in which more than 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, maimed, or left missing by Israeli bombs and bullets since October 7, when Hamas led deadly attacks on southern Israel and kidnapped over 240 Israelis and others. Around 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced and a majority of the besieged strip's homes have been damaged or destroyed by Israel's relentless onslaught.
Senior officials from Israel, the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar met in Cairo on Tuesday to resume negotiations for an extended cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of the approximately 130 hostages held by Hamas.
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'Day of Disruption': Tens of Thousands of Israelis Protest Imminent 'Judicial Coup'
"We are going to show them that the power of the people is stronger than that of the people in power," said one demonstrator.
Jul 11, 2023
At least tens of thousands of Israelis on Tuesday took to the streets, shutting down highways, and marching through the country's main international airport in a "day of disruption" after the nation's far-right governing coalition advanced a deeply controversial overhaul of the legal system critics condemn as a "judicial coup."
Demonstrators thronged the highways leading to cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, pitching tents, blocking roadways, and hanging banners from overpasses.
At Ben Gurion International Airport near Lod, thousands of protesters defied police warnings and marched through the arrivals hall.
Israeli police said at least 66 people were arrested. Widespread police violence—including spraying water cannons at protesters, charging into crowds on horseback, and an attack on at least one journalist—was recorded and posted on social media.
Ami Eshed, Tel Aviv's police commander, resigned last week due to what he claimed was political interference by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government and its desire to use excessive force to quash the ongoing pro-democracy protests.
"I could have easily met these expectations by using unreasonable force that would have filled up the emergency room... at the end of every protest," Eshed said on Israeli television.
Protesters—some of whom flew in from as far afield as the United States—represented a broad cross-section of Israel's center and left wing; however, Israeli-American journalist Emily Schrader said on Twitter that she "saw dozens of people screaming" at demonstrators opposing the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine "to get out of the protest."
Speaking at a Tel Aviv protest, opposition leader Benny Gantz of the National Unity party said that "ultimately, the protests will block this judicial coup."
Gantz implored police to refrain from violence: "These are not enemies. You don't use this force on citizens."
One protester named Grace told Middle East Eye that she believes "Israel is deteriorating towards complete dictatorship and corruption, and we are trying to stop it. Whatever laws this government doesn't like, it cancels, so all the power goes into government hands and away from the public."
"The message we have for the government is no one here will agree to live in a dictatorship," she added. "We are seeing an extreme government that wants to create an extreme country, and we don't want that to happen. We are going to show them that the power of the people is stronger than that of the people in power."
Hundreds of Israel Defense Forces reservists specializing in cyberwarfare reacted to Monday's parliamentary vote by announcing they will stop reporting for duty.
"We will not continue to develop cyber capabilities for a criminal regime, and we will not train the future generation of offensive cyber," the reservists said in a statement. "Our work cannot continue under such a severe legal and moral cloud."
Hundreds of members of the women-led Bonot Alternativa movement rallied outside the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv to protest the judicial bill, with another demonstration planned for Tuesday afternoon at the Israeli consulate in New York.
"The Israeli government is destroying Israel as we know it—a Jewish and democratic state—it is harming the independence of the courts... banishing women from the public sphere, and harming our core democracy," Bonot Alternativa said in a plea to U.S. President Joe Biden.
"The members of the 'most extreme' government, as President Biden put it, are attacking freedom of expression, the right to protest, and the rights of women and minorities," the group added. "Don't stand by. Don't let the Jewish state be destroyed."
The White House on Tuesday urged Israeli authorities to respect protesters' rights.
"As the administration has said, both U.S. and Israeli democracy are built on strong institutions, checks and balances, and an independent judiciary," a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson told Haaretz.
"The president has said consistently, both privately and publicly, that fundamental reforms like this require a broad basis of support to be durable and sustained," the spokesperson added. "The president has been clear he hopes Prime Minister Netanyahu will work to find a genuine compromise."
Tuesday's protests were sparked by Israeli lawmakers' overnight 64-56 vote to provisionally support a key piece of the highly contentious judicial overhaul that would repeal the "reasonableness" standard used by the Supreme Court to overrule egregious government decisions like then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's refusal to fire Cabinet Minister Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, after a 1993 fraud and bribery indictment.
The broader plan, proposed earlier this year by Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin—a member of Netanyahu's Likud party—would allow a 50%+1 parliamentary majority to override rulings issued by the Supreme Court, which also sits as the High Court of Justice and has been accused by human rights groups of giving legal cover to war crimes and crimes against humanity including apartheid and the illegal occupation of Palestine.
The proposed reforms would also increase government control over judicial appointments and make it more difficult for the Supreme Court to annul legislation by requiring the assent of more justices.
Furthermore, Levin's proposal would turn legal advisers who serve government ministries from professional appointees accountable to the attorney general into political appointments controlled by Cabinet ministers.
Critics have accused Netanyahu—who faces multiple criminal corruption charges—of attempting to weaken the judiciary in a bid to boost his chances of dodging prosecution. Netanyahu is prohibited from personal involvement in the judiciary overhaul due to a conflict of interest related to the charges against him.
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Israeli Police Crack Down on 'National Day of Disruption' Over Far-Right Judicial Overhaul
"We are the majority and we are out in the streets!" protesters chanted as police responded violently to the uprising.
Mar 01, 2023
Under fire for pushing what critics have decried as an authoritarian overhaul of Israeli's judicial system, the country's right-wing government directed police to respond with force on Wednesday as thousands of people marched, blocked traffic, and rallied to protest the plan.
Protests broke out in cities across Israel as part of what organizers called a "national day of disruption" to condemn the government's plan to weaken the justice system, as lawmakers voted on several proposals.
Police deployed stun grenades, tear gas, and water cannons to disperse protesters in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators tried to block one of the country's major highways. At least 11 people in the city were injured, the Middle East Eye (MEE) reported.
The public uprising was condemned as "anarchy" by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government pushed to pass several proposals as part of the judicial overhaul.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on police to break up the protests and show "zero tolerance," according to MEE.
"We will not allow a civil uprising and anarchists to block major roads," Ben-Gvir said.
Haaretz journalist Judy Maltz reported "total mayhem" on the streets of Tel Aviv as police targeted one protester with a water cannon.
As the demonstrations unfolded and police arrested 39 people in Tel Aviv alone, the Constitution, Justice, and Law Committee in the Knesset approved a proposal to give Supreme Court justices the authority to strike down laws only if it has the approval of 12 out of 15 judges. Currently, the court can strike down legislation that violate Israel's 13 basic laws.
The panel also approved a clause allowing lawmakers to reinstate a law that's been disqualified by the Supreme Court with a simple majority, further limiting the high court's ability to counter laws that are unconstitutional.
Two other proposals—to legalize the death penalty in terrorism cases and to restrict the attorney general's ability to declare the prime minister unfit for office—were also passed by the Knesset in a preliminary hearing, and proceeded to the Constitution, Justice, and Law Committee.
The Israel Democracy Institute conducted a recent poll that found 66% of Israelis oppose the curtailing of the Supreme Court's authority.
In Tel Aviv Wednesday, demonstrators shouted, "We are the majority and we are out in the streets!" and "Shame!" as security forces cracked down on the protests.
Towards the end of the day, more than a thousand people convened in front of Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem after marching through the city.
Yonatan Touval, an analyst at the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, told MEE that the uprising represents "the only chance for the government's agenda to fail."
The protests "stand a chance at preventing and perhaps at the very least slowing down the legislative agenda of the government," he said.
MEE noted that Palestinian citizens of Israel largely boycotted the demonstrations, as they believe they are "excluded" from the goal of the protesters—preserving the Supreme Court, which has supported evictions of Palestinians from land illegally occupied by Israel.
"It's very hard for Palestinians to join these protests that wish to preserve the judicial status quo—which has been deepening the oppression of Palestinian citizens of Israel and deepening the apartheid in the West Bank," Rami Younis, an independent Palestinian journalist, told MEE.
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'March of Shame': Tens of Thousands of Israelis Protest Against Netanyahu, Corruption
If charged, Netanyahu would come under heavy pressure to resign.
Dec 03, 2017
Tens of thousands of people rallied in protest on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, Israel against Israeli government corruption and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is under criminal investigation over allegations of abuse of office.
Saturday's "March of shame" protest was prompted by a draft law expected to be ratified by parliament next week, which would bar police from publishing its findings in two investigations of Netanyahu. If charged, Netanyahu would come under heavy pressure to resign.
The protest was by far the largest of now weekly anti-corruption protests sparked by corruption allegations against the far right-wing Prime Minister Netanyahu. Many more protesters also gathered in the cities of Haifa and Rosh Pina.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
Standing near the historic site where David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel, Hagai Peled and his wife, Tushia, said they traveled from Hadera to attend the protest.
"It's almost like a monarchy here now," said Hagai, amid drumbeats and chants of "Stop the corruption!" "What's going on with our government is going to silence the voices of everyone here in Israel so that no one can complain or say anything, so we want to protest," he continued.
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