JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

 Israeli police forcefully dispersed protesters attempting to block a major road in central Tel Aviv on Sunday during a demonstration demanding the government reach a deal to release captives held in Gaza, local media reported.

The demonstrators tried to shut down the busy street but were blocked and cleared from the area by police, according to Channel 12.

Several participants were arrested on charges of public disorder. Among those protesting were relatives of Israeli captives.

Hostage Nimrod Cohen’s mother, speaking at the protest, addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials, saying: “I strongly oppose any rescue attempt that may endanger my son’s life. Only a comprehensive deal can bring him home alive.”

Families of the captives issued a joint statement warning that expanding the war in Gaza would further threaten their loved ones.

“Netanyahu is preparing the biggest deception. Repeated talk of rescuing the captives while expanding the war is nothing but public manipulation,” the statement said.

“Expanding the war puts the captives -- already at immediate risk of death -- in even greater danger. They will not survive another round of prolonged hell,” it added.

Several Israeli outlets have reported in recent days that top government officials are considering escalating military operations in Gaza amid stalled negotiations with the Palestinian group Hamas.

Earlier Sunday, Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned that a full-scale assault on Gaza could jeopardize the lives of Israeli hostages, according to local media.

On Friday, the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, released a video showing Israeli captive Evyatar David appearing visibly emaciated, with pronounced bone structure and signs of extreme weight loss due to the Israeli siege.

The video showed him sitting on a bed in a cramped room, his bones clearly protruding due to malnutrition. It also included earlier scenes of him inside a vehicle with another captive watching the release of Israeli captives as part of a previous prisoner swap during a pause in January.

Separately, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Saraya al-Quds, published the final video of captive Rom Braslavski before losing contact with the unit holding him.

Tel Aviv estimates that 50 Israelis remain captive in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive. Meanwhile, Israel is holding more than 10,800 Palestinian detainees, many of whom face torture, starvation and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 60,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.