Live updates: Israel strikes Lebanon and Gaza as wars with Hamas and Hezbollah continue

Huge crowds of protesters gathered in several cities across Israel on Saturday, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government make the return of hostages in Gaza their top priority.

In Tel Aviv, people protested outside the Israel Defense Forces headquarters, blocking traffic and chanting anti-government slogans.

Eran Nissan, a peace activist from the progressive Israeli group Mahazkim, has been participating in anti-government marches since January last year. On Saturday, he distributed T-shirts and posters bearing insulting messages to the far-right Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Nissan said that a ceasefire agreement for the release of the hostages was the main demand of the protests. “The hostage issue is the first, second and third priority,” he told CNN, adding that he believed the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday represented an opportunity to finally agree to a deal.

“There is a strong majority and consensus in Israeli society on this matter. 105 hostages have (already) been returned in a deal,” he said, referring to the week-long ceasefire and hostage exchange that took place last November.

Israeli authorities say there are 101 hostages still being held in Gaza, but a third of them are believed to be dead.

He added that he believes that the current government has an interest in prolonging the war.

He added: “They know that once the war is over, they will have to answer questions about how they were complicit in bringing Israel to (the terrorist attack) on October 7, that there will be a national investigation, and that there will be an investigation.” It is a requirement for the elections. “Any poll you see now shows they will be hit hard,” he said.

The widespread protests on Saturday were among the first in Israel since the government banned large gatherings over security concerns following Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack, which Iran said was retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.