Tens of thousands of Israelis staged a one-day strike and mass demonstrations on Sunday, shutting businesses and blocking highways from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Organised by the Hostages Families Forum, the protest demanded an immediate cease-fire and a deal to free roughly 50 captives still held by Hamas in Gaza, nearly two years into the conflict. Police deployed water cannons and detained at least 38 people for “disruption of order” as crowds lit bonfires and unfurled banners bearing hostage portraits. The rallies briefly halted when air-raid sirens sounded after a missile was launched from Yemen; the Israel Defense Forces said the projectile was intercepted without casualties. The unrest adds to domestic pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose cabinet last week approved plans to seize Gaza City in a new phase of the war. Netanyahu told ministers that ending the campaign now would harden Hamas’s position and endanger the hostages, a stance that protesters and some opposition lawmakers reject as risking further loss of life. Israel estimates about 20 of the remaining hostages are alive. The war, triggered by Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack that killed some 1,200 people and led to 251 abductions, has since claimed more than 61,000 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza health officials. With negotiations for a cease-fire stalled since July, Sunday’s mobilisation was the largest anti-war action in months, and organisers vowed further disruptions until a deal is reached.