Nine arrested in Tel Aviv during protests against Netanyahu's Gaza plan

Israeli police arrested nine people in Tel Aviv on Thursday night during protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to take control of the Gaza Strip , although for now the plan approved by the Israeli government only applies to the northern city of Gaza.

According to a police statement, protesters blocked a road in Tel Aviv during an illegal march and defied police orders by refusing to leave. " They even attacked officers, burning bonfires and tires on the roads and firing tear gas at the police," the statement said. Following the arrests, the police reopened the roads and traffic was able to return to normal.

"We emphasize that freedom of protest and expression does not mean the freedom to set fires , block major roads, impair the freedom of movement of many people, bypass police checkpoints, or attack officers," the statement said.

Widespread protests

Thousands of people gathered in several Israeli cities on Thursday to protest the plan to deepen the offensive in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire that would allow Hamas to release the remaining hostages in the Strip (20 alive and 30 dead).

The Israeli government's security cabinet gave the green light early Friday morning to a military plan proposed by Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, which is home to one million people.

Speaking to Fox News prior to the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said his goal was to occupy all of Gaza, but that he did not intend to keep or govern it . Instead, he intended to maintain a "security perimeter" and hand it over to "Arab forces to govern it" without threatening Israel and without Hamas.

Lapid, opposition leader: "It's a disaster"

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Friday that the Israeli government's decision to advance its offensive in Gaza and occupy Gaza City, a northern city of one million people, " is a disaster that will lead to many more disasters ."

Lapid claims on his X account that the Israeli government's decision is "in complete contradiction with the opinion of the army and security officials" and that it does not take into account "the wear and tear and exhaustion of the fighting forces."

The opposition leader believes that the two ultranationalist and settler Israeli ministers—Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir— have dragged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a decision that "will take months" and "will lead to the deaths of the hostages and many soldiers."

He also claims that this plan " will cost Israeli taxpayers tens of billions and lead to a political collapse."

" This is exactly what Hamas wanted : for Israel to be trapped in a territory without a purpose, with no clear outlook for the next day, in a pointless occupation that no one understands where it's leading," he asserts.