Police and protesters clashed in Tel Aviv on Saturday night after a day of demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of all hostages, according to several videos posted on social media.
In the videos, police on horses and water cannons can be seen in Tel Aviv's Democracy Square attempting to disperse crowds that refuse to leave, resulting in violent clashes.
At another protest, police said they arrested two people “for disorderly conduct” after they allegedly left the approved demonstration site at the Kaplan intersection, headed to the Azrieli intersection and “lighted fires and began violating “order, without obeying the instructions of the police.” .”
The clashes followed anti-government protest marches that took place in several cities in Israel, calling for the release of hostages taken during Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on October 7 and the holding of general elections.
About 250 people were taken hostage during the Hamas surprise attack on October 7 on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli officials. Since then, Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.
Many of the protesters on the streets of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rehovot and beyond on Saturday took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing his government of corruption and criticizing his handling of the war against Hamas.
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