JERUSALEM

Thousands of demonstrators protested Tuesday in cities across central Israel, including Tel Aviv, to demand a hostage exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

🪧Israeli protesters are intensifying demands for Netanyahu's government to negotiate a hostage swap deal with Gaza to secure the release of prisoners held by Palestinian groups ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/crrwXDfkUU

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Protesters blocked Begin Road in Tel Aviv and chanted slogans: “Whoever abandoned them (the hostages) should bring them back,” and “Netanyahu abandoned them and is unfit to govern,” as well as “We want them alive, not in coffins.”

Fighting broke out between police and protesters on Begin Road, with police arresting several demonstrators, the newspaper reported.

Another large demonstration took place in Rehovot, near Tel Aviv, where about 1,000 people gathered to support the family of Nimrod Cohen, a soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip. Protesters demanded his release.

hundreds in Herzliya gathered near the home of Knesset member Yuli Edelstein, who chairs the Knesset's Security and Defense Committee.

Protesters also gathered at the Ra’anana Junction on Route 4, where drivers stopped to show solidarity, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

The protests escalated following the Israeli army's announcement about the recovery of six dead captives from Gaza. Israel saw mass protests blaming the government for not bringing them home alive through a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions.

Israel estimates that more than 100 hostages are being held by Hamas in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for month to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire deal and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in more than 40,800 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 94,300 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio