Thousands of Israelis converged outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on Wednesday, waving national flags and voicing outrage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest moves, blending fury over national security with their fears for the country’s democracy. The demonstrations, which shut down the main highway into the city during morning hours, erupted a day after Israel launched deadly airstrikes on Gaza—ending a fragile truce with Hamas that had held since January.
The protests mark a sharp unraveling of the unity that rallied Israel after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, which killed over 1,200 and saw 251 abducted. Tuesday’s strikes, the first in months, targeted Hamas figures in a bid to pressure the group into releasing the remaining 59 hostages, but they’ve reignited domestic tensions. Demonstrators demanded a ceasefire deal to bring the captives home, accusing Netanyahu of prioritizing his political survival—bolstered by a looming budget vote—over their lives. Scenes of marchers streaming into Jerusalem echoed the pre-war turmoil of 2023, when mass protests against judicial reforms signaled deep divisions that security experts later linked to Israel’s vulnerability.
