Thousands of Israelis protest in Jerusalem against Netanyahu's move to sack Shin Bet chief, resume Gaza war

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's move to fire the head of the country's Shin Bet domestic security service and resume the war on the Gaza Strip.

“It's time to end this madness before we don't have anyone to save, before we don't have a country left,” protest leader Shikma Bressler tells the crowd.

According to Israeli news portal The Times of Israel, protesters blocked Route 1, the main entrance of Jerusalem, as they marched towards Netanyahu's residence.

Netanyahu said this weekend that he will sack Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, citing “a lack of trust.”

Tensions between Netanyahu and the Shin Bet have escalated following the agency's internal investigation into the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas. Netanyahu dismissed the report's findings, saying they failed to answer key questions.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu's government resumed airstrikes on Gaza, killing more than 400 Palestinians and shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Opponents fear that the resumption of the Gaza war would kill any chance to release around 59 Israelis held captive by Hamas in the enclave.

"This government will not stop at a red line. The only solution is unity, but not silent unity, nor a unity of surrender, nor a false unity. Rather, it is the unity of an entire people who come together and say: Enough," opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X.

"I call on all of you. This is our moment, this is our future, this is our country – to take to the streets."

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.