Thousands of Israelis take part in anti-government protests

 Thousands of people took to the streets in Israel in the largest anti-government protest since the attacks of October 7 by Hamas and the Israeli assault on Gaza.

According to the BBC, the protests were put to one side for a while  as shock and national unity followed the 7 October attacks by Hamas, but the war has turbocharged the protesters' determination to unseat Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In Jerusalem, police used skunk water - a foul-smelling substance fired from water cannon - to clear protesters who had blocked the Begin Boulevard, the city's major north-south highway, the report adds.

Well-worn slogans demanding his resignation and early elections were amplified by newer ones calling for an immediate deal to free about 130 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has faced widespread criticism over the security failure of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which around 1200 people were killed and 250 others taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed about 32,800 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities.