Israel has been rocked by an explosion of protests in recent weeks, with trade unions staging a general strike on September 2 and an estimated 750,000 Israelis taking to the streets on September 7 to demand a hostage deal with Hamas.

Thousands of people again took to the streets of Israel's main cities on Saturday in a bid to increase pressure on the government to secure the release of hostages in Gaza.One of the six was Alexander Lobanov,

“There is a dire and urgent need to get as many hostages out of Gaza as swiftly as humanly possible,” says Avi Mayer, a top pro-Israel commentator. “The majority of Israelis feel at this point there is almost no cost too high to bring back those hostages who are still alive,” adds Mayer, immediate past editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post.

More than 500,000 protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on the 11-month anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks to call on the Israeli government to reach a cease-fire deal and bring the remaining hostages home.

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday continuing regular protests aimed at pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas militants that would secure the return of some 100 hostages still held by the Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip.

The conflict in Gaza intensified following the October 7 attack by Hamas, during which around 2,500 militants crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel, resulting in casualties and the taking of hostages.