Tens of thousands of Israelis are expected to rally across the country Saturday night for the release of the hostages in Gaza and against the continued fighting in the Strip, which families of the captives say will endanger their loved ones.

The rallies come as US President Donald Trump again cast doubt on the situation of many of the hostages, and the Hamas terror group issued a propaganda poster warning that unless Israel halts the fighting, the hostages could share the fate of disappeared Israeli navigator Ron Arad, missing since he was captured in Lebanon in 1986.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum will hold a rally starting at 8 p.m. at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and another starting at 8:30 p.m. at Jerusalem’s Paris Square, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence, where the families have moved the focus of their protests in recent weeks amid the military operation to take over Gaza City.

Smaller hostage rallies will take place in dozens of locations, including Kiryat Gat and the Shaar HaNegev Junction in the south, the Forum said.

“The writing is on the wall,” wrote the Forum in a press statement on its rallies. “There will be no other time to save our brothers and sisters who have languished in [Hamas’s] for 713 days already. We will not permit the sacrifice of the hostages and soldiers. Together we’ll save Israel.”

The Tel Aviv rally is set to feature speeches by Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen; Hanna Cohen, aunt of slain hostage Inbar Hayman, the last remaining female captive; Alon Nimrodi, father of captive soldier Tamir Nimrodi; and, in keeping with the rally’s custom in recent weeks, a reservist who is opposed to continuing the war.

The Jerusalem rally is set to feature speeches by former hostage Iair Horn, whose younger brother Eitan remains in captivity; Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker; Michel Illouz, father of slain hostage Guy Illouz; Ofir Braslavski, father of hostage Rom Braslavski; and Anat Angrest, mother of captive soldier Matan Angrest.

Both rallies are set to be followed by Selichot, forgiveness prayers typically recited ahead of and during the Jewish High Holidays, which begin with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, on Monday night. The post-rally Selichot in Jerusalem will take place at the Western Wall, the Forum said.

Highlighting the fears of the families, Trump on Friday said that “very close” to 40 of the 48 remaining hostages in Gaza were likely dead, and that rather than being endangered, they “might also be freed” as a result of the IDF operation to take over Gaza City.

Trump has repeatedly put hostage families on edge by citing figures that clashed with Israel’s official assessment that 20 hostages were still alive. He said again Friday that “probably 20” are alive, but the true figure “might be” fewer.

Seeking to again dispel the families’ concern, an Israeli official familiar with the matter said Israel’s assessment hadn’t changed, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

“Any other number being tossed about, even by the president of the United States, is false and misleading,” the unnamed source was quoted as saying. Israeli officials have repeatedly said they have no new information indicating further deaths.

Hamas also sought to apply pressure on the families and the Israeli government, publishing a propaganda image of the remaining 48 hostages held in the Gaza Strip, with the name Ron Arab under each picture.

The image’s text reads: “Because of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s refusal, and [IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal] Zamir’s capitulation, a parting image as the military operation in Gaza City begins.”

Arad, an Air Force Navigator, bailed out of his plane during a mission over southern Lebanon in 1986. Despite decades of efforts, Israel was unable to locate him, and his final fate remains a mystery, although he is presumed dead.

Israel believes  Arad was captured by the Shiite Amal movement before being handed over to Iran, and moved from Lebanon to Iran and then back again.

Several signs of life were received in the first two years of his incarceration, including photos and letters, the last of which was sent on May 5, 1988.

Arad has long been assumed to have died many years ago, although intelligence reports have differed as to the circumstances, timing, and location of his death.

Alongside the hostage protests, anti-government demonstrations were organized outside a gathering of the ruling Likud party in Kfar Saba, as plans by Netanyahu to appoint Maj. Gen. (res.) David Zini to lead the Shin Bet internal security service. Critics of the premier, including former Shin Bet chiefs, have railed against Zini’s appointment, citing his self-described “messianic” views.

“Zini’s appointment to Shin Bet chief is a pivotal step in the plan to topple the enlightened stage of Israel and establish a Kahanist dictatorship,” organizers of the protest said in an announcement, referring to assassinated Jewish supremacist rabbi Meir Kahane.

The anti-government protest is set to take place outside a Likud Rosh Hashana event and be attended by high-ranking members of the party. Last week, police forcibly cleared out hundreds of protesters and arrested at least one at a similar protest outside a Likud gathering in Petah Tikva, which was attended by several Likud ministers.

Netanyahu selected Zini for Shin Bet chief after announcing plans to oust former agency head Ronen Bar, who ultimately stepped down in June for his failure to prevent the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

The plans to oust Bar sparked mass anti-government protests in March, with protesters accusing Netanyahu of seeking to offload onto Israel’s security chiefs his own failures surrounding the onslaught that sparked the Gaza war.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 47 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas-led terrorists in the October 7 onslaught, as well as the remains of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014. Of the 48 remaining captives, at least 26 are confirmed dead by the IDF.

Twenty are believed to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.