Tel Aviv becomes center of nationwide protests demanding immediate hostage deal
Hundreds of thousands gather in Tel Aviv in mass protest, demanding an immediate hostage deal before more hostages are killed by Hamas.
Protesters blocked the entrance to Jerusalem Sunday evening as others marched through the streets of Tel Aviv carrying coffins, protesting the abandonment of the hostages after the IDF confirmed that the bodies of six hostages had been retrieved from Gaza.
The protesting mass has since shifted from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, with police managing to clear the entrance to Jerusalem after more than two hours of blockages.
According to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, three hundred thousand people have gathered in Tel Aviv in mass protest, demanding an immediate hostage deal before more hostages are killed by Hamas.
Fifteen protesters have since been arrested by police, N12 reported.
The Women's Protest for the Hostages blocked the Ayalon Highway on Sunday evening, holding huge posters of hostages. Protesters have set bonfires ablaze on the Ayalon highway, N12 reported.
A policewoman was injured during the attempts to clear the protestors from the Ayalon Highway, she has been taken to hospital for further treatment.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino were alive in captivity for nearly 11 months, before being killed in captivity soon before IDF forces reached their location, according to an IDF initial assessment, the IDF said Sunday.
Strikes were called for dozens of locations around the country Sunday night, after protesters had gathered at junctions and blocked roads around the country Sunday morning.
Families of hostages, labor union head Arnon Bar-David, the head of the Kibbutz Movement, and others were scheduled to speak at a main stage outside the IDF Kirya headquarters Sunday night, in a protest organized by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
Police crack down on Ayalon Highway protest
MK Naama Lazimi was injured when police threw stun grenades into Ayalon in order to evacuate protesters, according to a statement put out by her office.
Lazimi was hit by a grenade thrown at her and thrown to the floor, requiring medical treatment.
A statement from the Israel Police called on the protestors to "evacuate the streets immediately and disband the illegal protest which is infringing upon others' freedom of movement."
Police also updated that Ayalon south has been re-opened to drivers.
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