Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv late Tuesday to protest the firing of Defense Minister Yoav Galant and called on his successor, Israel Katz, to prioritize a hostage deal over the return of detainees still in Gaza.
Immediately after the announcement of Gallant’s dismissal, protesters gathered in the commercial center carrying Israeli flags and chanting slogans against the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Protesters also blocked traffic and set fires on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, with some chanting “Bring them home now!” T-shirt referring to hostages.
They chanted “We deserve better leaders” and “Leave no one behind!” Like they were carrying placards with slogans written on them. And one protester was wearing handcuffs and a face mask, like Netanyahu.
Some people chanted “Bibi traitor! You are guilty”, referring to Netanyahu and accusing him of failing to stop the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.
Samuel Miller, a 54-year-old teacher, criticized Netanyahu’s administration for opening “new fronts in unnecessary wars”, saying, “We, the protesters, believe that Gallant… is actually the only normal person in the government.”
“He is doing nothing to protect our peace, the peace of the Palestinians, the peace of everyone in the region,” Miller told AFP.
He also criticized the Netanyahu government for “doing nothing to free the hostages” still held in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz took over the defense portfolio on Tuesday after Netanyahu fired Gallant over confidence in the last months of the Gaza war.
– ‘Endangering Israel’s security’ –
An Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages in Gaza expressed “deep concern” on Tuesday over the dismissal and urged Katz to “prioritize” an agreement to free the detainees.
“We hope that the incoming Defense Minister, Israel Katz, will prioritize a hostage settlement to ensure the immediate release of all hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
Gallant also called on the government in a televised speech to return the hostages home, saying: “We must do this quickly, while they are still alive.”
Einav Tzangoukar, whose son Matan is among the hostages, was among those protesting against Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
“If it’s possible to change a defense minister in the middle of a war, it’s certainly possible to change a prime minister who is inept at repatriating hostages,” he told Israel’s Channel 12.
“Netanyahu is deliberately endangering Israel’s security because of the dispute between him and Gallant over continuing the war,” he said.
The war broke out after Palestinian militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations considers credible.
During the October 7 attack, Palestinian militants captured 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of them have been killed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
