New protests in Israel against Netanyahu, former Prime Minister Barak among the gathered

(Patria) - Families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Tuesday condemned their country's leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "traitor", AFP reported.

Thousands of people gathered in front of the country's parliament, with families of hostages and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak blaming Netanyahu for the "catastrophe" of October 7 and calling for elections.

"You are a pharaoh, a murderer of the firstborn, 240 were kidnapped on your watch, it is your fault," said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is one of 134 still being held in Gaza. "You failed on October 7 in every possible way," she said, and now you are an "obstacle to a hostage deal."

Zangauker said Netanyahu tried to smear the families of the hostages over the protests while the country was at war.

"You call us traitors when you are a traitor, a traitor to your people, the State of Israel."

The families of the hostages are furious with Netanyahu, whom they say has not made enough effort to free them. They have joined forces with anti-government demonstrators who marched for nine months last year to thwart his controversial judicial reforms, which they say threatened democracy. At the rally in front of parliament on Tuesday, some of the families accused Israel's longest-serving leader of trying to use the war to prolong his rule.

Merav Svirsky, who lost both parents in the Hamas attack and whose brother was later killed in Gaza, said Netanyahu is in no hurry to free the hostages.

"The basic duty of the state is to ensure the return of the abducted. I was naive, I didn't know our prime minister was not interested in bringing them back for political reasons," she said.

Former Prime Minister Barak said that if Netanyahu launches a ground offensive on Rafah, "the hostages will return in coffins. He who abandoned them on October 7 is now sacrificing them on the altar of absolute victory." He called for early elections, saying that "the man responsible" for the disaster should be "removed from the helm."

About 3,000 demonstrators later marched to Netanyahu's house chanting slogans demanding his resignation, and police said some "rioters" tried to knock down barriers outside. Mounted police charged into the crowd to prevent them from breaking through.

Hamas militants captured about 250 hostages on October 7, of whom 33 are presumed dead. On that occasion, 1,160 people were killed. In Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, at least 32,916 people have been killed, mostly women and children.