Thousands rallied against the government in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand the immediate release of the remaining 134 hostages still being held in Gaza.
Many attendees wore shirts calling for the immediate dismissal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the immediate release of the hostages. Other shirts belonging to protest groups from the anti-judicial overhaul demonstrations prior to Oct. 7 were also seen in the crowd.
“Capital punishment would be a relatively light sentence” for Hamas terrorists responsible for the onslaught on October 7, he said. “But if we need to return the human scum who murdered you, we will give backing to the ministers and the prime minister to make a painful decision,” said former MK Izhar Shay, whose son Yaron was killed fighting Hamas terrorists.
This week’s protests coincided with the beginning of Purim, something that Jon Goldberg-Polin, the father of Hersh, who was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival by Hamas, drew parallels to.
“There is nothing more fitting than Purim to describe the critical moment we are in,” he said. “I stand here with hope that we will also be able to flip the dice that were cast, to change their outcome, and to see our beloved hostages returned to their homes,” he said.
