Disrupting the Status Quo to Demand a Ceasefire

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured out into the streets on Tuesday, August 26, for what protestors have called “a day of disruption.” The main protest began with a march from Tel Aviv’s central train station to Hostages Square, a mile away. Hostages Square, in the very center of Tel Aviv, has become a gathering point for people to commemorate the attacks of October 7 and to advocate for those who remain in captivity. 

“Today is a day of resistance here in Israel,” one protestor, Tsipi Haitovsky, told newswire service Agence France-Presse. “The families of the hostages called upon the people of Israel to demand from the government of Israel to end this war and bring all of our hostages back home.”

Protestors also blocked the Ayalon highway, which is a major artery running from Tel Aviv to the northern city of Haifa, and staged protests inside Ben Gurion Airport. The demonstrations were spearheaded by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group of relatives of those held in Gaza that has been pushing for a hostage deal and ceasefire for many months, and which NIF has supported since October 7.

The day of disruption came as the security cabinet met at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem to discuss its plans for a new offensive into Gaza City. Hundreds gathered outside the meeting to protest the operation, which has been widely condemned both domestically and abroad because of the danger increased military presence poses to both Israeli hostages and Gazan civilians. It was the first time the cabinet had met Hamas approved the terms of a ceasefire and partial hostage deal, backed by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. Even so, according to reports, the ministers did not focus on the details of the deal in the meeting.

“Advancing the plan to conquer Gaza while there is an agreement lying on the table for the prime minister’s signature is a stab in the heart of the families and the entire nation,” Itzik Horn, father of one current hostage and another who was released as part of a previous deal, said. 

In attendance at the demonstration were representatives from numerous other NIF grantees, including Standing Together and members of the Partnership for Peace coalition. “We are marching to end this war of annihilation, to bring back the hostages, to end the bombing of hospitals, to end the killing of children, to end the killing of journalists—to end the killing, period,” one Standing Together protestor said in a post on X. “We are marching to end the siege over Gaza and to achieve what we all deserve, which is a just Israeli-Palestinian peace.”

Faced with obstinacy and sandbagging from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, NIF grantees will continue to disrupt the status-quo, refusing to let Israeli politicians, who prioritize political gain over peace and real security, ignore the suffering of hostages and Gazan civilians alike.