Israel-Hamas war: Police and protesters clash outside Netanyahu’s house

Thousands of Israeli protesters have descended on the house of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the “fall” of the country. Watch video, see photos.
Protesters in Israel are gathering outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home calling for new elections in an effort to replace the Israeli leader.
Israeli demonstrators have rallied outside the parliament and near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence demanding early elections and chanting “All of them! Now!” calling for hostage release, as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediation efforts towards a truce deal have stalled for months.
“We need to shut down the country in order to make the government fall,” said Yaacov Godo, whose son Tom was killed during the Hamas attack, at the start of what activists describe as a week of anti-government action across the country.
The war should have stopped “a long time ago”, and the return of the captives would “end this story”, Mr Godo said.
Israeli media said another rally is planned in front of the parliament building late Tuesday.
It comes as witnesses reported gunfire and artillery shelling near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, where the civil defence agency said at least 13 people died in two separate strikes on a family home and on a commercial building.
Witnesses and the Hamas government media office said there were some strikes and fighting elsewhere in northern and central Gaza.
In a statement, the Israeli army said its operations continued on Tuesday in central and southern Gaza including Rafah city on the border with Egypt.
In Rafah, where the Israeli military has said it would pause fighting along a key route in the city’s east, witnesses saw Israeli military vehicles and reported shelling in other areas.
United Nations rights chief Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva he was “appalled by the disregard for international human rights” and “unconscionable death and suffering”.
At least three people were wounded and eight arrested as Israeli police clashed with protesters outside the Jerusalem home of Mr Netanyahu.
Tens of thousands of Israeli protesters have been converging in Jerusalem for eight months after the start of the war and a year-and-a-half since the unveiling of the Netanyahu-led government’s judicial coup.
The demonstrations are calling for new elections, a permanent ceasefire and hostage release deal, and more.
Some protesters were violently arrested as water cannons were used to put out a fire that protesters had lit on the road, according to local Israeli media.
Following the dissolving of Mr Netanyahu’s war cabinet, reflecting the country’s political fractures, representatives from several anti-government protest groups announced they will be intensifying their activism with “A Week of Resistance” that will include countrywide demonstrations taking place over the next several days.
Protesters set a fire near the residence of the Israeli prime minister during an anti-government rally calling for early elections, in Jerusalem. Picture: AFP
Protesters set a fire near the residence of the Israeli prime minister during an anti-government rally
The upheaval comes after centrist military leader Benny Gantz, who formed and headed the Israeli war cabinet, resigned over Mr Netanyahu’s lack of a post-war plan for Gaza.
Protester Oren Shvill said: “The healing process for the country of Israel, it starts here. After last week when Benny Gantz and Eisenkot left the coalition, we are continuing this process and hopefully this government will resign soon.”