Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in northern Tel Aviv to protest against the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding the swift completion of a prisoner exchange deal.

“Despite the tensions in the North, hundreds of thousands are participating” in the demonstrations in Tel Aviv, according to the Hostage Families Forum. “The people of Israel are voting with their feet in favor of the return of the hostages by means of a deal — the living hostages to rehabilitation and the dead to an appropriate burial in their land.”

Large demonstration of settlers in Tel Aviv#Israel_Enemy_of_Humanity #IsraelTerroristState pic.twitter.com/s1PDC8kOmS

— MaryMorty (@mary_morty) September 21, 2024

Eli Elbag, a family member of an Israeli captive, addressed the Tel Aviv rally, stating that far-right ministers in the coalition are obstructing a deal.

Elbag criticized the government for only now addressing the Hezbollah attacks in the North. “A year has passed, and now you remember to deal with the north? Where have you been for a year, while the north has burned?” he questions. “They’ve been battered by missiles every day.”

Israeli media also reported that mass protests are taking place outside Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea, as well as in al-Quds, Netanya, and many other areas.

Thousands of Israelis are taking to the streets in “Tel Aviv” demanding an immediate prisoner swap deal with the Palestinian resistance in #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/iorzZ1TQze

— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) September 21, 2024

The former IOF chief joined the protesters in blocking the road near Netanyahu's residence only to be forcefully removed by the police. Videos circulating online showed police picking up and removing former IOF chief of staff Dan Halutz from among a group of protesters.

The fact this is their former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz makes it funnier pic.twitter.com/6UMsP8Su4k

— cheri 🔻 (@cheriblossom__) September 21, 2024

In recent days, relatives of captives have expressed growing pessimism about the chances of reaching a deal, partly due to the Israeli war's shift in focus to the North and the lack of meaningful communication between Israeli negotiators and the deal's mediators, as per Israeli media. 

Fabricating reports, abandoning captives

The 11th month of the war on Gaza has seen a floodgate of Netanyahu-issued fabricated information and maneuvers that led to the deaths of captives in the Gaza Strip exposed.

These events caused outrage among Israeli settlers, especially the families of captives, and Israeli officials. 

In an expose published by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth Netanyahu and members of his coalition government were accused of derailing talks that would have led to the release of at least three captives in the first stage of a deal agreed to by the Palestinian Resistance. The bodies of these three captives, including settlers holding the American nationality, were retrieved from the southern Gaza Strip on September 1 this year.

Netanyahu was exposed for sharing yet another set of fabricated documents in an attempt to justify the occupation of key areas in the Gaza Strip, a major obstacle in reaching a final agreement. The Prime Minister claimed that the Palestinian Resistance was planning on transferring the captives through the Palestinian-Egyptian border. 

Read more: Hamas says Netanyahu chose Philadelphi Corridor over captives