Israel’s Netanyahu under public fire

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in downtown Tel Aviv, protesting what is widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to release the Israeli hostages.

Winds have been shifting against the prime minister as Israel’s war in Gaza drags past its sixth week. Multiple opinion polls suggest national favor toward Netanyahu and his governing coalition is collapsing.

Opposition parties initially rallied behind Israel’s war effort, with National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz joining the wartime government ­­– but cracks have begun to emerge.

On Wednesday, the country’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said it was time for the six-term prime minister to resign, and called for Netanyahu’s Likud party to oust him.

“We cannot allow ourselves to have a prime minister who has lost the public’s trust, whether from a social or a security point of view,” Lapid told Israel’s Channel 12.

Gestures to relieve pressure on the besieged enclave’s civilian population have already drawn the ire of Netanyahu’s unruly governing cabinet – the most right-wing in Israel’s history.

Some families have demanded that the government should consider an “everyone for everyone deal,” which was floated by Hamas. Such a deal would involve exchanging the hostages for all Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons – some 6,630 people, according to estimates by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

The families of hostages have largely attempted to stay apolitical in their growing campaign, but many in the crowd on Saturday blamed Netanyahu for failing to anticipate Hamas’ attack

Commentators accused Netanyahu of a lack of empathy; Israel watchers say he spent more time at photo opportunities with troops near Gaza than apologizing for past failures.

Last month, he received sharp criticism for accusing security chiefs of failing to warn him about the impending attack, in a now-deleted social media post.