Thousands Protest in Israel, Demand Hostage Return

Thousands of Israelis protested in central Tel Aviv and Jerusalem calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to bring home the remaining hostages help in captivity in Gaza.

Israel said it recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where they were apparently killed shortly before its troops reached them.

The Hostages Families Forum, which represents the families of some of those held in Gaza, said the death of the six was the direct result of Netanyahu's failure to secure a deal to halt the fighting and bring their loved ones home.

Netanyahu said Israel would not rest until it caught those responsible.

By evening the protesters blocked main roads in Tel Aviv.

In Jerusalem, protesters were forcibly removed from the road by police and there were demonstrations outside the prime minister's residence, while Israel's trade union called for a general strike to further pressure the government into securing a hostage deal.

The recovered bodies were from about 250 hostages captured during the Hamas-led shock incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza.

Their deaths leave 101 Israeli and foreign captives still in Gaza, but around a third of these are known to have died, with the fate of others unknown.

Video released by the Israeli Police showed officers clashing with protesters, as they urged them to stop blocking traffic and disperse. 

Crowds estimated by Israeli media to number up to 500,000 strong demonstrated in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do more to bring home the remaining 101 hostages. Some two dozen Israelis were arrested nationwide, police said.