Live Updates: Israel attacks Lebanon and Gaza as wars with Hamas and Hezbollah continue

Huge crowds of protesters gathered in several cities across Israel on Saturday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to make the return of Gaza hostages their top priority.

In Tel Aviv, people protested outside the Israel Defense Forces headquarters, blocking traffic and shouting anti-government slogans.

Eran Nissan, a peace activist with the progressive Israeli group Mehazkim, has been taking part in anti-government rallies since January last year. On Saturday, he distributed T-shirts and stickers with derogatory messages about Israel's far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Nissan said a ceasefire agreement for hostages was the central demand of the protests. “The issue of hostages is the first, second and third priority,” he told CNN, adding that he believed Wednesday's killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar provided an opportunity to finally agree to a deal.

“There is a solid majority and consensus in Israeli society on this, 105 hostages have (already) been returned under an agreement,” he said, referring to the week-long ceasefire and hostage exchange that took place last November.

Israeli authorities say 101 hostages are still being held in Gaza, but up to a third of them are believed to be dead.

He added that he believes the current government has an interest in prolonging the war.

“They know that once the war is over they will have to answer questions about the extent to which they were complicit in bringing Israel to the October 7 terrorist attack and that there will be a national investigation, and there will be. “ be a demand for elections. And every poll you see right now shows they are being hit hard,” he said.

Saturday's large-scale protests were among the first in Israel since the government banned large gatherings, citing security concerns following the Oct. 1 Iranian rocket attack, which Iran said was in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.