Members Of The Hostage Family In Gaza Hold Protests Demanding Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Resign

Illustration of the protest against PM Netanyahu. (Wikimedia Commons/men's)

JAKARTA - A number of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Jerusalem on Sunday, including family members of the hostages detained in the Gaza Strip, calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign.

Former Israeli Prime Minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid, called on the Israeli government to pay attention to ongoing demonstrations and the demands of the protesters.

"Those present in the crowd were the families of the hostages. They stood outside Kirya (Israel Defense Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv), shouted as hard as they could, and no one heard. They waved a sign and no one saw them. The Israeli government ignored them. his whereabouts," Lapid said while attending a demonstration outside Knesset in Jerusalem, cited from CNN April 1.

Danny Elgarat, brother of one of the hostages, Itzhak Elgarat, also asked PM Netanyahu to resign from his position.

"Auntie, this is the end of the cheating deal, the end of corruption," Elgarat said, using a widely known nickname for PM Netanyahu.

"Auntie, this is the end of playing with us. 177 days! Aunt, this is the end!" he continued.

Thousands of other protesters gathered outside Knesset, the Israeli parliament, carrying flags and banners.

"Take everyone home now. Without returning the hostages, Israel has no reason to stay alive," reads one banner.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Police said in a statement that "a number of fireworks objects, including smoke flares, were lit near the demonstrators" and one person was arrested on suspicion of involvement.

Separately, the family of an Israeli female soldier held hostage in Gaza said there was "no good news" coming out of their meeting with PM Netanyahu on Sunday.

"After six months, we hope and hope to get good news as negotiations go on," said the father of the arrested 19-year-old soldier, Naama Levy, in an interview with Israeli Army Radio.

"We didn't receive such news. On the other hand, we were disturbed because negotiations were slow," he added.