Many Israelis feel that freeing the hostages cannot happen if the government refuses to come to terms with Hamas and pursues its policy of trying to eliminate the group militarily.

Hundreds of thousands of people shouted slogans and booed mentions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at nationwide protests across Israel about the Gaza war.

Israelis took to the streets on Sunday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to expand operations in the Gaza Strip rather than attempt to negotiate an end to the war under which Hamas would free its last hostages.