Thousands protested in Tel Aviv on Monday night, calling on the government to make a deal with the Hamas terror group for the release of hostages who have been held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, in a rally that later descended into clashes with police forces, arrests, and claims of violence toward a lawmaker and relatives of a hostage.

Amid heightened preparations for the military to launch an offensive in the Gazan city of Rafah, demonstrators lit a bonfire on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road, near the IDF’s headquarters, and spelled out “Rafah can wait — they [the hostages] cannot” in large Hebrew letters.

Relatives of hostages and captives who were released in the week-long truce in November took part in the protest, calling on the government to stop the war in order to bring the abductees home.

The rally came as Hamas was set to give a response to an Israeli offer that would see a 40-day pause in fighting and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for 33 living hostages, and a second phase of a truce consisting of a “period of sustained calm” – Israel’s compromise response to a Hamas demand for permanent ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron have expressed their hopes that Hamas will agree to the “extraordinarily generous” offer.

Details of the proposal reported in the media have prompted far-right leaders within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to threaten to bring down the government if the Rafah operation is called off and the war is ended. War cabinet minister Benny Gantz has said that if other ministers prevent a deal supported by the security establishment, he will leave the emergency government he joined days after October 7.

In her speech, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, addressed Netanyahu, saying he had to choose between bringing the hostages home and keeping intact his government over the objections of far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who vehemently oppose a hostage deal that would require a ceasefire.

There were clashes between protesters and police forces later in the evening, with some demonstrators reportedly shouting that Ben Gvir, the minister in charge of the police, “is a terrorist.”

The rally later reached the area of the ruling Likud party’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, where police used a water cannon to disperse the protest and arrested five people for disrupting public order.

Police said a firework was fired toward a cop, who was taken to the hospital to receive treatment.

Footage showed a police officer pushing Labor MK Naama Lazimi of the opposition, who was at the scene.

Reports said cops shoved Ilana Gritzewsky, Matan Zangauker’s partner who was kidnapped on October 7 and released in the November deal.

Einav Zangauker, Matan’s mother, told Ynet that cops had pushed her to the ground and that the police used excessive force and sent in “disproportionate” forces to disperse the crowd, in what she called “stepped-up violence.”

Police blamed the protesters, saying “a small number of protesters started an illegal demonstration while disrupting order and violence toward cops,” adding that some, “including a Knesset member,” were stopped while trying to enter the Likud headquarters and scrawl graffiti writings.

Lazimi, the Labor MK, said the police statement was “a blatant lie” and that it “directly incites against families of hostages.”

Earlier in the evening, relatives of hostages Keith Siegel and Omri Miran held a press conference to call for an immediate agreement to return the hostages, days after Hamas issued a propaganda video featuring the pair.

A few days earlier, Hamas also released a video of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose family did not take part in the press conference.

“Eighteen world leaders sent a letter saying they demand the immediate release of all hostages, and I want to ask everyone to stop talking and start taking action,” said Siegel’s daughter, Elan.

“We are losing people who are alive now and there is no time to waste. We also know a deal is possible,” she added.

Keith’s wife, Aviva, who was also taken hostage on October 7 and released during the November truce, said she couldn’t bear watching the video Hamas released of him.

“It reminds me of when he was sad and depressed when I was there with him. I know what it’s like to be there, I know the feeling of losing hope,” she said.

Omri Miran’s wife called for her husband to be released so he could be reunited with their two young daughters.

“No child should be forced to grow up with a distant memory of their father captured in a picture,” says Lishay Lavi-Miran.

“Let us finalize the deal that is on the table to bring home the hostages, end the hostilities, agree on a ceasefire, and allow us to celebrate our Israeli Independence Day next month with our loved ones reunited right here in Israel,” she said.

“Omri trusts you to bring him home and bring the smile back to his face,” she added, addressing the government.

Miran’s father, Dani, told the attendees that the hostage’s daughter had asked Lishay, “Is Omri still my father?”

“That’s the most painful thing to hear from a girl,” he said, adding that the family was teaching the younger daughter, who has just turned one year old, how to say “dad” so that she will be ready for Omri’s return.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu invited representatives from the Heroism Forum — formed by bereaved families who lost loved ones in the war — after its members threatened to begin a hunger strike on Monday night until the IDF begins its operation in the Rafah.

“What is motivating us is the fear that our sons died for nothing,” said Itzik Bonzel whose son, Amit, was killed in Gaza on December 6.

“Any result other than ending the war with victory and obtaining the war’s objectives, including eliminating Hamas completely and bringing the hostages back, can lead us to a personal crisis in everything related to the sacrifice that we made,” Itzik told the Ynet news site on Monday.

It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during the truce in November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 12 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.

The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 34 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. Recent reporting indicates this number could be higher.