As a result of the Gaza war, nationwide protests have occurred across Israel, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils. These demonstrations occurred as part of broader war-related protests occurring worldwide. Israelis domestically and abroad have primarily called for the return of hostages held by Hamas.
The biggest protest movement in Israel, named "Bring Them Home Now", has demonstrated weekly in Tel Aviv near the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) headquarters. Jewish Israeli anti-war activists have been targeted by far-right groups, while Arab citizens of Israel have experienced a crackdown on free speech, with individuals arrested for social media posts and likes. By 22 December 2023, 67% of Israelis supported a ceasefire in exchange for the return of hostages held by Hamas.
Israeli hostage deal protests
A hostage-solidarity rally in Tel Aviv on 14 October criticized the government's handling of the war and called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign. Prisoner swaps were broadly supported amongst the Israeli population. The families of hostages were particularly critical of the Netanyahu administration's handling of the war. On 4 November, protests were held near Netanyahu's residence.
On 25 November, protesters in Jerusalem called on Netanyahu to resign. A suspected arson-originated fire was reported at a protest camp for the families of hostages; the families experienced harassment from right-wing Netanyahu supporters. On 16 December, protesters set up tents outside the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv and stated they would not leave until the government took up hostage negotiations again. Protests against Netanyahu on 23 December in Caesarea and Tel Aviv called for new elections. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that "hundreds of families of the hostages in Gaza gathered in central Tel Aviv to demand the government to immediately conclude a deal to release them."
A Netanyahu speech on 25 December was met with heckles from hostage families. At an anti-government rally, former-IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz stated victory would only be achieved when Netanyahu stepped down.
At a Tel Aviv rally on 26 December, protesters called for an immediate ceasefire and stated it was the government's responsibility to get all 129 hostages back alive. On 28 December, a delegation of youth protesters from Tel Aviv traveled to Jerusalem to call for the release of the hostages. In an interview, the protest leader stated the movement's goals were a ceasefire, the return of the hostages, and "an end to the killing of innocent people in Gaza."
Bring Them Home rallies in Tel Aviv drew tens of thousands of protesters every Saturday. At the 30 December protest at Habima Square, demonstrators called for Netanyahu to be put behind bars. Habima Square became informally known as "Hostages Square". On 5 January 2024, the families of captives protested outside the home of Benny Gantz. On 13 January, protesters in Tel Aviv were arrested for blocking a freeway. Benny Gantz attended the Bring Them Home Now rally on 13 January. Isaac Herzog was loudly booed at a hostage rally in Tel Aviv. Protesters were arrested blocking a freeway in Tel Aviv. Protesters camped outside Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea on 20 January. The protesters stated they would remain encamped outside Netanyahu's residence until he agreed to a deal for the hostages' return. Relatives of the hostages stormed the Knesset chambers on 22 January. Relatives of hostages, along with other demonstrators, blocked the Ayalon Highway on 25 January.
Six protesters calling for the resignation of Netanyahu were arrested attempting to block roads. Protesters on 8 February held a sign that said "a deal or a death sentence" in response to Netanyahu rejecting a deal to release the hostages. Protesters were arrested for blocking a Tel Aviv highway on 11 February. Protesters blocked Begin Street in Tel Aviv on 15 February in opposition to Netanyahu pulling out of hostage release negotiations. The 17 February protests additionally saw demonstrators demanding new elections. A protester filmed Israeli police whipping an anti-government protester during the 27 February protests; Yair Lapid condemned the act as "anti-democratic". In March, an anti-war demonstrator in Tel Aviv stated, "The only victory is to stop the war, to save the lives of 20 or 30,000 more innocent Gazans and more than 100 hostages". Continued government inaction over reaching a hostage deal led several family members of the hostages to join the anti-government demonstrations on 30 and 31 March, which was followed by a four-day sit-in protest outside the Knesset.
On 6 April, during an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv, a car deliberately accelerated into a crowd of protesters, injuring five. To mark the six-month anniversary of the 7 October attack, an estimated 50,000 people gathered in Jerusalem on 7 April to demand the immediate return of hostages. Additional rallies were held that day in New York City, Berlin, London and Washington D.C. with participants joined by family members of hostages.
In mid-May 2024, it was reported that the families of hostages continued to hold rallies in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Video messages from former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Dr. Phil were screened at a rally, while speeches were given by the United States, United Kingdom, German and Austrian ambassadors to Israel and family members of hostages. Musical performances were seen by Montana Tucker, Noga Erez, Netta Barzilai, Lola Marsh, and Eden Golan.
On 24 July 2024, six families of hostages were arrested during the Capitol Hill protests against Netanyahu's speech in Congress. In August 2025, families of some of the hostages sailed towards the Gaza Strip in an attempt to pressure Netanyahu to end the war, with boats covered in Israeli flags, yellow ribbons and balloons and images of the hostages with loudspeakers playing their messages.
Anti-war protests
On 9 November 2023, Israeli police arrested former MK Mohammad Barakeh in Nazareth for attempting to organize an anti-war protest. In an interview with Time Magazine, Barakeh described Israel's crackdowns on free speech as fascist. Israeli anti-Zionists reported hostility, threats from far-right groups, police brutality, and being perceived as "traitors".
On 18 November 2023, Israel held its first permitted anti-war protest in Tel Aviv. Two activists in Haifa were arrested for quietly protesting against the war. On 27 December, protesters from northern Israeli border towns protested in Tel Aviv, demanding to know when they would be allowed to return home. On 17 January 2024, a peaceful anti-war protest in Tel Aviv was broken up by police for "harming the feelings of the public". Palestinian and Jewish Israelis held a protest calling for the end of the war on 20 January 2024. One protester stated, "The government and the police in particular have done everything in their power to prevent [Jews and Arabs] from coming together." The protest was allowed after the organizers took it all the way to the Supreme Court.
Oren Ziv, a journalist for +972 Magazine, posted a video on social media showing police confiscating an anti-war banner on 27 January 2024 that stated "stop the genocide". On 14 February, protesters demonstrated outside Israel's Defence Ministry, calling for a ceasefire and the protection of children in Rafah. On 29 February, activists from Standing Together held up bags of flour in protest of the Al-Rashid massacre, stating, "In Gaza today more than a hundred people were killed in line for flour and food. The war and the killing of hungry and innocent people do not bring us security, they only give birth to more pain". On 1 March, protesters in Kafr Kanna called for an end to the war, to Israel's attacks on Palestinians, and to Israel's planned invasion of Rafah. On 9 March, protesters in Umm al-Fahm demonstrated in opposition to the war. Protesters paraglided over Netanyahu's home on 25 March, carrying slogans accusing him for not taking responsibility for the 7 October attack.
Five members of the Free Jerusalem movement were reportedly arrested for "protesting against the criminal attack on Gaza". In May 2024, six anti-war protesters were forcibly arrested during a Palestinian solidarity demonstration in Haifa. In June 2024, Israeli police arrested at least three antiwar demonstrators protesting against the Nuseirat refugee camp massacre.
In April 2025, thousands of Israelis held anti-war demonstrations in Tel Aviv against Israel's actions against Palestinians and holding pictures of Palestinian children who had been killed by Israel.
Work and school
Individuals who posted or expressed sentiments believed to be sympathetic toward or pro-Palestinian were suspended and censured from work and school. In one instance, a high school principal faced suspension for sharing a Haaretz article that criticised the insufficient coverage of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on Israeli media. In another, a Palestinian doctor was probed by police for allegedly blocking her Jewish colleagues on social media. Ben-Gurion University stated it would seek more severe punishment for a Palestinian student who was ordered to perform community service after sharing a social media post challenging some of the events of 7 October. Meir Baruchin, a history teacher in Petach Tikvah, was arrested and placed in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison for a Facebook post stating, "What I am trying to do in my posts is present Palestinians as human beings." Two young women were arrested for writing "free Palestine" on a whiteboard in Meitar.
Hebrew University suspended Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a Palestinian professor of law and genocide studies, because she "signed a petition calling Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide, and an occupying entity since 1948".
According to a May 2026 Haaretz investigation, Israel's Education Ministry operated a secret surveillance body known as the "Incitement Committee" that monitored teachers' political speech and social media activity. The committee, headed by a former Shin Bet operative, collected information on teachers' professional histories, online posts, and personal data from law enforcement agencies, compiling it into "intelligence reports" without the teachers' knowledge. The investigation found that between 2023 and 2025, 157 teachers were examined, of whom 118 (75%) were Arab. The committee recommended disciplinary action against 52 teachers, with seven ultimately dismissed.
Reported cases included Arab teachers investigated over "Stop the war" social media posts, liking pro-Palestinian content, or participating in a Nakba Day march. Some Jewish educators who opposed the government or the Gaza war were also investigated.
In July 2025, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Tel Aviv University's Labor Rights Clinic filed a High Court petition to end the covert monitoring, warning of a "chilling effect" on freedom of expression for tens of thousands of teaching personnel.
The Education Ministry denied the allegations, stating the committee only handled cases involving incitement or terrorism-related concerns, not political criticism. However, former ministry officials quoted by Haaretz likened the committee's practices to those of "dark regimes."
Conscientious objectors
A number of young Israelis conscientiously objected to IDF conscription in protest of the war. These "refuseniks" faced jail time for their refusal to serve. According to Amnesty International, Israel does not recognize a right to refuse military service on grounds of religion or conscience. One prominent teenage objector stated, "The criminal attack on Gaza won’t solve the atrocious slaughter that Hamas executed." Another objector stated she refused to participate in Israel's "violent policies of oppression and apartheid". A network of conscientious objectors called Mesarvot provided legal support to refuseniks. An eighteen-year-old woman was sentenced to twenty days in prison for refusing to serve due to the war on Gaza. On 28 February, Tal Mitnick, an 18-year-old conscientious objector, was sentenced to his third 45-day sentence for refusing to serve.