Tel Aviv protesters rally against Israel’s war with Iran and Gaza crackdown

An Iraqi anti-war demonstration in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. A protest against war in the Middle East was also held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The United States and Israel started the war on Iran on February 28. Photo / Murtaja Lateef, AFP

Carrying anti-war banners and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hundreds of Israelis have rallied in Tel Aviv to protest against the war with Iran.

Demonstrators gathered in a central square, holding signs that read: “Don’t bomb – talk! End the endless war!” despite restrictions on mass gatherings imposed during the Iran conflict.

“Police are trying to silence our voice,” Alon-Lee Green, the co-director of Israeli-Palestinian grassroots group Standing Together, told AFP.

“We are here to demand an end to the war in Iran, the war in Lebanon, and the war in Gaza which is still going on, as well as an end to the pogroms in the West Bank.

“In Israel, there’s always a war. So, if we’re not allowed to demonstrate, we will never be allowed to speak,” he added.

Green and several other protesters were soon detained by police, an AFP correspondent reported.

Protesters also voiced scepticism about the Government’s justification for the war with Iran.

“I’m very suspicious of the reasons. I think the main reason is that Bibi wants to stop his trial,” said Cecile, 62, who gave only her first name, referring to Netanyahu with his nickname.

Netanyahu is on trial in a long-running corruption case and has sought a presidential pardon, with United States President Donald Trump repeatedly pressuring Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant one.

In a video statement released today NZT, Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the military campaign against Iran.

“I promised you that we would continue to strike the terror regime in Tehran, and that is exactly what we are doing,” Netanyahu said.

“Today, we attacked their petrochemicals hub,” he added, after announcing strikes on Iran’s steel-producing facilities the day before.

“These two things are their cash machine for funding the war of terror against us and against the entire world. We will continue to strike them,” he said.

Cecile said the reasons for the war kept shifting.

“The reasons for the war keep moving and changing all the time. We don’t know what will be considered a success or a failure, and we don’t know how long it’s gonna take,” she said.

Several waves of Iranian missiles have been launched towards Israel today, including targets in Tel Aviv and other areas of central Israel.

At least five people were injured after the missile fire, according to Israeli medics.

Demonstrators began leaving the square following an alert warning of an incoming missile.

Minutes later, the military reported it had detected an incoming missile from Yemen.

Since February 28, the US and Israel have conducted joint strikes on Iran, prompting the Islamic Republic to retaliate with daily missile barrages targeting Israel and several neighbouring countries across the region.

– Agence France-Presse