Israelis Appeal to Trump to End the Gaza War, Having Lost Faith in Netanyahu

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Families of hostages and their supporters fear that the assault on Gaza City could endanger the captives.

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, urging U.S. President Donald Trump to enforce an end to the Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages, arguing that he is the only figure capable of influencing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the matter.

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The demonstrators assembled in a public square outside the military headquarters, waving Israeli flags and holding banners with pictures of the hostages. Some signs read: “The continuation of the Gaza war diminishes Trump’s prestige,” and “President Trump, save the hostages now!”

Boaz, a 40-year-old Tel Aviv resident, declared: “We believe Trump is the only person in the world who has real leverage over Bibi, and he can force him to act,” referring to the Prime Minister.

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Growing frustration has spread among many Israelis against Netanyahu, accused of ordering the army to seize a major urban center where hostages might be held. Families fear that such an assault could jeopardize their safety, a concern reportedly shared by Israeli military officials.

Orna Neutra, the mother of an Israeli soldier killed on October 7, 2023, whose body remains in Gaza, accused the government of abandoning its citizens. “We truly hope the United States will push both sides to finally reach a comprehensive agreement to bring them home,” she said, noting that her son also held U.S. citizenship.

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Weekly protests of increasing size have been taking place in Tel Aviv, demanding a ceasefire with Hamas in exchange for the hostages’ release. Organizers said Saturday’s rally drew tens of thousands of participants, while a large demonstration was also held in Jerusalem.

Currently, 48 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive, according to Israeli officials. On October 7, 2023, Palestinian militants abducted 251 people during Hamas’s attack on Israel. Subsequent indirect negotiations led to the release of most of them.

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Donald Trump, who had pledged during his presidential campaign to end the war swiftly, has yet to achieve that goal eight months into his second term. On Friday, he stated that Washington was engaged in “very deep negotiations” with Hamas.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has stepped up airstrikes on the outskirts of Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face famine conditions according to a global hunger monitor. While Israeli authorities acknowledge a food crisis, they reject the term “famine.” On Saturday, the army warned civilians to evacuate Gaza City and move southward.

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Before the war, Gaza City had a population of nearly one million. Today, hundreds of thousands remain despite the bombardments.

On Friday, Hamas released a video showing an Israeli hostage, 24-year-old Guy Gilboa Dalal, saying he was being held in Gaza and feared being killed due to the Israeli offensive. Human rights groups condemned such hostage videos as inhumane, while Israel denounced them as psychological warfare.

Public opinion in Israel is shifting, with a growing portion opposing the continuation of the war. Polls indicate that most Israelis want Netanyahu’s government to negotiate a lasting ceasefire with Hamas that includes the hostages’ release.

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“This war has no purpose whatsoever, only violence and death,” said Boaz. Adam, 48, added: “It is now obvious that soldiers are being sent to fight for nothing.”

Hamas has offered to release some hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, under terms similar to those discussed last July before U.S. and Arab-mediated talks collapsed. The group reiterated that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.

Netanyahu, however, insists on a deal involving the simultaneous release of all hostages and Hamas’s surrender. He argues that seizing Gaza City is essential to defeating the movement, which launched the October 2023 assault.

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Although it acknowledges it will play no role in governing Gaza after the war, Hamas firmly refuses to disarm.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli army reported that two rockets had been launched from Gaza, one of which was intercepted while the other landed in an open area. This marks the first time in months that Netivot, a town of about 50,000 residents located ten kilometers from Gaza, has been threatened by rocket fire.

On Saturday, the army also leveled a tower in Gaza City, the second such strike in two days, while dropping thousands of leaflets over western neighborhoods urging residents to evacuate, according to witnesses and an AFP correspondent.

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