Protest in Tel Aviv: Netanyahu is the greatest threat to Israel's existence

(Patria) - More than a thousand people protested tonight in Tel Aviv against the war Israel is waging against Iran and against Hezbollah in Lebanon, calling on the authorities to end the conflict, before they were dispersed by the police.

"Don't bomb! Talk!" chanted the demonstrators gathered in the city center, reports an AFP agency correspondent.

One woman carried a banner that read: "Netanyahu is the greatest threat to Israel's existence," referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Middle East has been at war since February 28, which broke out after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, to which Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and other countries in the region.

The Hezbollah movement joined the conflict on March 2, stating that it wanted to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Tehran. Israel retaliated with airstrikes across Lebanon and launched a ground offensive in the south of the country.

Shortly after the protest began, around 5 PM Central European Time, police – who had allowed a gathering of up to 150 people for security reasons – pushed back the demonstrators. Some of them then returned to the gathering point or sat on the ground.

"The police are trying to silence our voices, but it is our duty to be here," said Alon-Lee Green, co-director of the Standing Together organization, an Israeli-Palestinian group that organized the protests.

He added that participants are calling for an end to the war in Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza, as well as an end to violence in the West Bank.

"I am against the war because I am very skeptical of the reasons given by the prime minister," said 62-year-old Cécile, who did not want to reveal her last name.

The Israeli army announced that one of their soldiers was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, bringing the number of Israeli soldiers killed since March 2 to 11.