Israelis rally against Netanyahu as Gaza war reaches half-year mark

Tens of thousands of Israelis protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday as Israel’s offensive in Gaza reached its half-year mark.

Organisers said about 100,000 people converged at a Tel Aviv crossroads renamed “Democracy Square” since mass protests against controversial judicial reforms last year.

Chanting “elections now”, protesters called for his resignation as the war in Gaza enters its seventh month on Sunday, AFP correspondents reported.

Rallies were also held in other cities, with Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid taking part in one in Kfar Saba ahead of his departure for talks in Washington.

“They haven’t learnt anything, they haven’t changed,” he said at that rally.

“Until we send them home, they won’t give this country a chance to move forward.”

Israeli media said clashes had broken out between protesters and police at the Tel Aviv rally and police said one protester had been arrested.

Later, the protesters in Tel Aviv were joined by families of Gaza hostages and their supporters.

Earlier, the army announced that troops had recovered the body of a hostage abducted by Hamas and later murdered in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 33,137 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.