Thousands of protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, calling for the release of the hostages.
It marked the end of the first of three days of protests led by families of Israeli hostages, which started with tense scenes near the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Demonstrators set trash bins ablaze, and a vehicle parked nearby caught fire.
During the Wednesday evening mass protest outside the prime minister’s residence, the mothers of two Israeli soldiers held captive in Gaza delivered searing speeches directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Anat Angrest, mother of kidnapped soldier Matan, opened by saying: "You never bothered to come to us. You didn’t answer the phone. You didn’t meet with us. So we came to your home. We rang the bell… no answer."
Vicky Cohen, mother of kidnapped soldier Nimrod, followed: "For two years we’ve had no answers. No decisions. No courageous steps. And I have no child at home."
Anat continued: "I also have no child at home. Do you know what I do have? An empty room. An empty bed. An empty chair. A gaping hole in my heart."
Vicky addressed Netanyahu directly: "Take off the hostage pin from your lapel. Erase the pretty words from your lips. Stop saying you’re with us. Because if you were with us, if you truly cared, I would have my child at home."
Anat pressed further: "I want to ask you, Netanyahu: How do you sleep at night? How do you go to toasts and celebrations as if everything is fine? How do you go on with your life knowing our children are dying there? They were kidnapped on your watch. You should know a thing or two about personal responsibility."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at protests demanding the return of hostages from Gaza, accusing demonstrators of “acting exactly like fascists.”
In a video statement, Netanyahu said: "In a democracy, protest is legitimate. But what we’re seeing in these funded, organized, political protests against the government has crossed every line — they vandalize property, block roads, torment millions of citizens, chase elected officials and their children to schools and kindergartens. They threaten daily to murder me, the prime minister, and my family, and they also commit arson. They said they would surround my home, the Prime Minister’s Residence, with a ‘ring of fire’ — just like fascist militias."
Netanyahu pointed to a recent fire near his residence on Harlap Street, which he said spread to a car belonging to IDF reservist Maj. (res.) Yoav Bar Yishai, grandson of former finance and justice minister Yaakov Neeman.
"This year alone, Yoav served some 260 days in Gaza and Lebanon. He’s an officer in an armored reconnaissance unit, with three daughters at home. Protesters burned his car. Now people are offering to fund a new one for him. Don’t do us any favors. Don’t make us laugh. You speak of democracy? You act exactly like fascists," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister argued that a lack of law enforcement has emboldened protesters.
"It started with breaking barricades, then attempts to break through fences, then firing flares that nearly burned one of my security guards alive. Now it’s fire rings. Where is the enforcement? It doesn’t exist. This must change — that is my demand of law enforcement. That is what the people of Israel demand in order to preserve democracy."
Earlier in the day, protesters blocked the major Highway 1 between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
On Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump called on Hamas to release the hostages, but again did not address the at least 30 hostages killed in captivity.
In a post he published on the Truth Social network he owns, he wrote: "Tell Hamas to IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 hostages (not 2 or 5 or 7!), and things will change rapidly. IT WILL END!"
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum responded to Trump, calling on him to keep his promise.
"In the darkest times, you expressed your commitment to us and stood by us. Now we must make it clear: This nightmare will not end for the people of Israel until all 48 kidnapped men and women are home, those who survived and those who were brutally murdered in the last 700 days in hell," the forum said in a statement.
"President Trump, keep the promise you have made to us several times - bring all 48 hostages home and end the war. Our loved ones are being held by Hamas terrorists, and we are counting on your leadership to bring them home. This is your moment to fulfill the most sacred commandment, the living and the dead hostages have no more time."