About 100,000 people filled central Tel Aviv on Saturday night to denounce Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new plan to expand Israel’s 22-month war in Gaza and to demand a deal for the release of hostages still held by Hamas. Waving Israeli flags and portraits of captives, demonstrators marched from the Defence Ministry to the city’s Hostages Square, chanting for an immediate cease-fire. The protest erupted a day after the security cabinet authorised the army to seize Gaza City, signalling a possible ground push deeper into the devastated enclave. Military commanders have warned that a full takeover could endanger the roughly 50 hostages believed to remain in Gaza, about 20 of whom Israeli officials say are still alive. The full cabinet could endorse the operation as early as Sunday. Polls indicate most Israelis now favour halting the campaign, which has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and more than 400 Israeli soldiers. Hamas’s 7 Oct. 2023 attack that triggered the conflict left 1,200 people dead in Israel and led to the capture of 251 hostages, many of whom were later freed through negotiations. Netanyahu’s plan has also drawn rebukes from European allies and will be discussed at a UN Security Council emergency session on Sunday. While far-right members of the coalition insist on a total Gaza takeover, families of hostages and a broad cross-section of the public argue that prolonging the war risks both Israeli and Palestinian lives without delivering strategic gains.