Massive protests erupt in Israel with 700,000 people participating

On September 1, massive protests erupted in Israel. The cause was that the Israeli Defense Forces issued a statement in the morning of September 1, saying that the bodies of six Israeli detainees were found in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Preliminary estimates suggest that they had died several days ago.

According to CNN, an organization called the "Forum of Families of Detainees and Missing Persons" said on the same day that at least 700,000 people participated in protests in multiple locations in Israel, of which about 550,000 protesters were in Tel Aviv. Protesters gathered near the Israeli Defense Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv. Many people waved Israeli flags in their hands and held posters with photos of detainees in Gaza, chanting "We will not abandon them" and repeatedly shouting the names of the six dead detainees. They demanded that the Israeli government reach a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as soon as possible and promote the release of Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip.

Arnon Bar-David, chairman of the Histadrut labor federation, announced on the 1st that the union will launch a national strike on the 2nd to send out the call that reaching a ceasefire agreement is "more important than anything else." Municipal departments in cities such as Tel Aviv have announced their participation in this strike.

This news has triggered strong dissatisfaction across Israel. The people are angry about the government's way of handling the crisis and disappointed that the country's leaders have failed to reach a ceasefire agreement and release the detained Israelis. Although the United States is constantly exerting pressure and senior officials have visited the region many times, the negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have lasted for several months and no agreement has been reached so far.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will not let this go until the perpetrators are caught, and also said that those who killed the hostages do not want to reach a ceasefire agreement. While senior Hamas member Izzat al-Rashq said that the Israeli side that refuses to reach a ceasefire agreement should be responsible for the deaths of the six detainees.

This massive protest is the largest protest to occur in Israel since the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out on October 7 last year. It reflects the people's strong concern about the current situation and demands on the government. It also makes the Palestinian-Israeli situation more tense and complex. The international community is highly concerned about the peace process in this region.