Thousands Rally on War's 300th Day in Tel Aviv

Thousands of protesters, including relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, demonstrated around the country to mark 300 days since the October 7 massacre, calling on the government to seal a hostage and ceasefire deal.

Family members of hostages and demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv to mark 300 days since the October 7th attack on southern Israel that triggered war in the Palestinian enclave.

Protesters set up a “300” sign on fire and launched lanterns in the sky.

Hundreds marched through Tel Aviv, holding yellow ribbons and photos of hostages, then blocked the Begin intersection near the IDF’s Kirya headquarters before the main rally was held at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

The families bound themselves in chains while walking along the route, representing the suffering of their loved ones in the Gaza Strip, and unfurled a 40-meter-long flag counting the days since the war’s outset.

Similar protests were held around the country, including in Jerusalem, Beersheba and Herzliya.

At the Hostages Square event, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum first displayed a brief video on the main stage from January of this year, when a few dozen hostage families had gathered near the southern border to shout, sometimes cry, through giant loudspeakers in the direction of the Gaza Strip in hopes that their loved ones would hear them.

In Jerusalem, hundreds of people marched from the First Station complex to the Great Synagogue, dressed in white and carrying yellow flags, Israeli flags and yellow ribbons.

A final deal to halt nearly 10 months of war and release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners has been complicated by changes sought by Israel, sources have said, and there was no sign of progress at the latest round of talks in Rome.