Tens of thousands of Israelis blocked highways, torched tires and rallied outside ministers’ homes on Tuesday in what organisers dubbed a nationwide “Day of Disruption.” The demonstrations, centred on Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway and Hostage Square, demanded a ceasefire in Gaza and an immediate agreement to free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in October 2023. Families of captives led the protests, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prioritising a planned assault on Gaza City over negotiations. “He believes it is valid to sacrifice 50 hostages for political needs,” said Ruby Chen, father of one of the abductees. Of the 251 people taken on 7 October, 49 are still in Gaza and the Israeli army says 27 of them are dead. The rallies were timed to coincide with an evening security-cabinet session that Israeli media said would review a Qatari- and Egyptian-brokered proposal for a 60-day truce and staggered prisoner swap. Far-right coalition partners have threatened to quit if Jerusalem agrees to halt the war, heightening political pressure on Netanyahu amid mounting public anger. Inside Gaza, Israeli forces pressed their campaign. Hospital officials said strikes on Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital a day earlier killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, prompting the army to open an internal probe it called a “tragic mishap.” The Gaza Health Ministry puts the Palestinian death toll from the 22-month conflict at roughly 62,800.