Tehran – Tens of thousands of citizens are protesting across the country, at key signs of growing sectors in Israeli society. They demand that hostages filmed in Hamas, Gaza be brought home immediately. They also strongly oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership.
The protests that began in late 2023 and became stronger in 2025 show both the deep pain of families with loved ones and the serious political issues that could shake up the Israeli government.
The protest also shows the sad consequences of the massive use of Israeli military power and its long-term control and Gaza blockade. Most people march to return Israeli hostages, but the protests suggest a greater problem. Israel’s approach to the Palestinian conflict is not working. It did not bring about peace or security, and instead caused violence and suffering on both sides.
National protests show cracks in Zionist facades
The hostage crisis began after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the Netanyahu government used it to justify a deadly war in Gaza. Today, many families say the government uses their loved ones as pawns, but are being captured as an excuse to continue attacking Gaza and hurting innocent civilians.
The Netanyahu administration values the power of human life in both Palestine and Israel by seriously negotiating a war on diplomacy and refusing to make a choice. Netanyahu’s strict language depicts the image of a regime that captivates those who call the UN genocide “false and absurdity” and dismiss outside criticism as anti-Semitism.
Massive protests by tens of thousands of Israelis show that they are calling for hostages to return and oppose the Netanyahu government. People are angry at the government’s failure to protect them, their corruption, and the dangerous choice of war that puts Israeli soldiers at risk and causes great harm to Palestinian civilians.
Protesters say Netanyahu is putting the country in danger to maintain power. The families of former hostages and still held people have become strong voices, opposed to the government’s focus on warfare, demanding transactions that precede human lives than politics.
Even Israeli pilots and army reserves joined the protest, showing internal divisions in the military and challenging the government’s message of national unity.
Israel’s disclaimer
The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants to Netanyahu and Gallant is a major moment in the fight for justice for the Palestinians.
For the first time, Israel’s top political and military leaders are legally liable by the international community for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This suggests that the world’s views on Israeli occupation and military action may be changing as Israeli leaders breaks a long history of avoiding punishment.
Groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are calling for strong global action to sanctions, ban the sale of arms and halt Israel’s violence campaign. However, powerful Western countries, particularly the United States, still provide Israeli military and political support, allowing the attack on Gazan to continue unabated.
The Netanyahu administration symbolizes systematic oppression
Under Netanyahu, the actions of the Israeli government reflect a system of settlers’ violence and efforts to completely dislocate Palestinians from their homelands. Forcing Gaza people out of their homes, destroying important infrastructure and regularly attacking Palestinian communities is part of a plan to erase their history and identity.
The hostage crisis is very tragic, but should not be distracted from the broader patterns of Israeli invasion. Netanyahu shows that he used hostages to protect the brutal war. Protests in Israel are important, but they are primarily showing anger over the government’s failure, not a real challenge to the deeper injustice of the occupation itself.
The only way to achieve true justice and lasting peace is to end the apartheid system, lift blockades in Gaza and the West Bank, and support Palestinians’ self-center rights. The world must stop supporting this system by placing sanctions on Israel and having them answer their actions.
The Israeli protests reveal a government contradiction that it would protect people while hurting another population. The true freedom of Palestinians and the release of all prisoners only happens by ending their profession and continuing violence in the name of security, but by respecting the rights of everyone in the area.