Thousands of Israelis call on Netanyahu's gov't to resign in 2nd day of protests

Thousands of Israelis rallied for a second day on Monday in front of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in West Jerusalem demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government resign.

Israel's Maariv newspaper said the rallies continued as thousands gathered to demand the return of Israeli captives being held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza and that Netanyahu's government step down and pave the way for early elections.

The newspaper reported some incidents of rioting during the protest with Israeli police arresting at least three demonstrators.

On Sunday, nearly 100,000 Israelis gathered in rallies in West Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other areas across Israel demanding the government's resignation over the failure to bring back the Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are taking place in both Cairo and Doha aimed at reaching a deal that includes a prisoner swap under which the Israeli captives would be released in exchange for the freeing of Palestinians from Israeli jails.

Hamas is estimated to be holding more than 130 Israelis hostage while Israel is holding more than 9,100 Palestinians in its jails.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.

Over 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.