Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of central Tel Aviv on Saturday to press their demands to end the Gaza war and reach a deal to release hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas movement. Several thousand people responded to a call from the Hostages Families Forum, according to a correspondent from the German news agency (DPA). Protests were also reported in Haifa, Jerusalem, and Beersheba. Einav Zangawker, whose son Matan is one of 20 hostages alive in the Gaza Strip, told the crowd: “Tomorrow we will make the country stop working.” She was referring to a planned nationwide strike on Sunday. She added, “We will not stop tomorrow, nor will we wait for (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to end the war, but we will take what is our right.” According to the Jewish calendar, Sunday is considered the first working day of the week in Israel.

The Times of Israel reported that families called for the strike to protest the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza by launching a new attack instead of signing a deal to return the captives. Months of indirect negotiations over the release of the hostages and ending the war have yielded no results. Netanyahu pushed the security cabinet to decide to take control of Gaza City and refugee neighborhoods in central Gaza by military force. Despite initial concerns about the risks to the hostages believed to be there, the army began implementing the plans. A negotiated solution has not been completely ruled out yet. There is currently no talk of resuming indirect talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. However, there have been repeated media reports of contacts and exploratory talks aimed at relaunching the negotiation process.