Demonstrators advocating for an immediate hostage deal held a Shabbat reception on Tel Aviv's main highway on Friday, blocking both directions of the Ayalon and setting a Shabbat table on fire in a dramatic protest.
The police quickly extinguished the fire, and the protesters dispersed.
According to the organizers, the protest was intended to prevent the government from turning away from another opportunity for a deal.
"We are in the midst of another deliberate sabotage attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Those who were kidnapped under his watch, those who were supposed to be the first to be rescued, have been abandoned once again, and now they are being sacrificed on the altar of political considerations."
"Additional demonstrations are taking place in Yokneam, Elyakim, Nahalal Junction, Hod Hasharon, Ma'agan Michael, and Drorim Bridge in Ramat Gan, to show solidarity with the families of the hostages and pressure decision-makers to sign the deal on the table.”
“While Netanyahu sits around the Shabbat table, hostage families spend another Friday in fear for their loved ones. It has been 98 Shabbats without them! There’s a deal on the table, and Netanyahu must sign it. Tonight, as Shabbat begins, we invite you to embrace your loved ones. Tomorrow, join us in the streets—for the hostages and for the country. We will bring everyone home, now!”
Shabbat table at Netanyahu's residence
Simultaneously, the families of the hostages held their own Shabbat reception outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, urging him to “replace your Shabbat dinner table with the negotiating table. Our loved ones don't have the privilege of waiting another day - 686 days is too many!”
"Netanyahu, you stood with me at Kibbutz Nir Oz less than two months ago," Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said.
"You promised we would bring everyone back, all 50. We showed you that the people of Israel are with us. What happened to that promise? You didn’t bring good news on the agreement or the war's end. You sent a negotiating team, and they came back without a deal."
The families declared Tuesday as the next day of national struggle, demanding the return of all hostages and an end to the war. They called on the public to join their cause.