Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu urged to resign in protest outside his home
Jerusalem, Israel - Hundreds of people have called for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration in front of his home in Jerusalem, The Times of Israel reported on Sunday.
Police clashed with protesters during the Saturday evening demonstration and arrested three people, the newspaper said. They accused the protestors of attempting to breach security around the prime minister's home.
The protesters called for Netanyahu to approve a swap deal for the hostages being held in the Gaza Strip, accusing him of being responsible for failures in the lead-up and response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
Anti-Netanyahu protests were also held in other centers. The prime minister has thus far refused to accept responsibility for the attacks.
In central Tel Aviv, thousands gathered on the recently renamed Captives Square to show support for the families of the more than 240 hostages seized by Hamas, while others rallied in support of a ceasefire.
Israel rejects calls for humanitarian pause and carpet bombs Gaza
Israel declared its plans to wipe out Hamas after its militants went on a brutal rampage through Israeli towns bordering Gaza, reportedly killing 1,400 people, many of them civilians, and taking 249 others hostage on October 7.
Israel has since engaged in a relentless, indiscriminate bombing campaign in Gaza, killing more than 9,500 people, most of them women and children.
Representatives of relatives of the hostages recently called for a prisoner swap following a meeting with Netanyahu.
The newspaper reported that Netanyahu had come under pressure from some families to consider a Hamas offer to release all the hostages in exchange for all of its prisoners being held by Israel.
Netanyahu's administration had dismissed the offer as an insincere ploy, and had also resisted calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting without receiving hostages in exchange, it said.
Cover photo: REUTERS