Calls for prisoner swap deal with Hamas echo through West Jerusalem

Thousands of Israelis have gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in West Jerusalem and in the city of Caesarea to demand a hostage-prisoner swap deal with Hamas, according to local media.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli protesters blocked two major highways — one connecting Tel Aviv and Haifa — to demand a hostage-prisoner exchange with the Palestinian resistance in besieged Gaza and early elections.

The protests were part of a series of "National Strike Day" demonstrations organised by protest leaders to put pressure on Netanyahu's government, Israel's official broadcaster KAN reported.

Channel 12 reported that family members of Israeli hostages in Gaza have closed the Ayalon highway south of Tel Aviv.

"The prime minister abandoned the hostages, and as far as he's concerned, they will be buried in Gaza as long as he retains his seat," the broadcaster stated, citing families.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that thousands of Israelis demonstrated in front of Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, demanding an immediate deal to release all prisoners held in Gaza.

Protesters carried signs reading, "Held in Gaza for a long time." Thousands more demonstrated outside Netanyahu's home in Caesarea.

They raised a large banner that read, "How much more blood will be spilt until you go?" and demanded that Netanyahu and his government resign or call early elections.

The protesters urged the government to negotiate a hostage-prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions, according to the newspaper.

Months of pressure

In recent weeks, government opponents and families of Israeli hostages in Gaza have escalated their protests, demanding a hostage swap deal and early elections.

Even before he started the genocidal war on Gaza, Netanyahu faced wide protests over his controversial plans for a judicial overhaul.

Opponents of his plan argued that the overhaul would upset the country's fragile system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies, igniting weekly protests against Netanyahu.

The war on Gaza made matters worse for him, with now thousands of Israelis and many political opponents calling for his resignation.

Israel has killed over 37,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and wounded over 86,400 others so far in the blockaded enclave.

Tel Aviv reduced most of Gaza to ruins, while causing a massive shortage of basic necessities like water, food, electricity and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military invasion in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.