Central Tel Aviv has erupted into the largest anti‑government protests since the Iran war began, as tens of thousands of Israelis pour into the streets demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu step down and calling for a new strategy amid relentless missile barrages and rising casualties.

Rabin Square and the surrounding boulevards turned into a sea of flags and placards reading “Enough War, Enough Bibi” and “Security, Not Survival Mode.” Families of reservists, business owners battered by repeated shutdowns, and former security chiefs marched side by side, accusing Netanyahu of dragging Israel into an unwinnable three‑front conflict with Iran, Hezbollah and Gaza while ignoring domestic chaos.
The mood shifted from defiant to explosive when police tried to block a column of protesters from reaching the Ayalon highway. Mounted officers, stun grenades and water cannons were deployed as demonstrators lit flares and chanted “Go home!” and “Elections now!” Live footage showed scuffles, burning dumpsters and rows of riot police pushed back toward side streets off Ibn Gabirol.

At one point, air‑raid sirens cut through the chants as fresh IRGC missiles were detected inbound. Protesters and police alike sprinted for nearby shelters, huddling together in stairwells until Iron Dome intercepts thudded overhead—an eerie reminder that the war they are arguing about is literally in the sky above them.
Netanyahu’s allies denounce the rallies as “irresponsible” in wartime, claiming they embolden Tehran. Organisers counter that Israel cannot fight effectively abroad while “collapsing from within.” As missiles, sirens and megaphones compete for the Tel Aviv soundscape, one question now hangs over the country: will the next shock come from Iran’s launch pads—or from Israelis themselves at the ballot box?