Thousands of Israelis joined protests across the country on Saturday night, demanding that Israel reach a comprehensive deal with the Hamas terror group to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining hostages, on the eve of a strike organized by the families of the captives in the hope of pushing the country into action.

The mass demonstrations were organized in the shadow of the defense establishment’s preparations to capture Gaza City, in the Strip’s north, as part of a plan that many relatives of the hostages and security officials have warned will further endanger the remaining living hostages.

Israel is forging ahead with the plans for an expanded military campaign in the Gaza Strip, even as reports have emerged in recent days that Hamas is expressing a newfound willingness to release some of the remaining 50 hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who for many months had been pursuing the partial-deal framework, reiterated on Saturday night that Israel will only agree to a comprehensive deal if it meets Israel’s conditions for ending the war, which include demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and removing Hamas from power.

Yet officials familiar with the situation have warned that Israel’s demands mean that it will be difficult to broker a comprehensive deal in a short time period.

In addition to the main demonstrations in Tel Aviv, protests were held in Jerusalem, Haifa, Rehovot, and other major cities, and smaller ones were organized at junctions across the country.

At the weekly anti-government protest outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, declared that the families of the hostages were done waiting for Netanyahu to “stop the war when it’s convenient for him.”

“Tomorrow we’ll stop the country,” vowed Zangauker, one of the key organizers of the planned nationwide strike. “We’ll stop the country tomorrow for our lives here, for our children, for the state of Israel,” she said. “We can’t take any more.”

“Tomorrow is only the beginning,” she promised. “We’ve stopped waiting for Netanyahu to stop the war when it’s convenient for him politically. We demand quiet, security, a future, and the end of the war.”

Directly addressing the government’s actions and its plans to conquer Gaza City, Zangauker warned that “if we do not stop the decision to occupy the Strip, we will wake up to ‘permitted for publication’ notices about 20 hostages.”

News relating to the death of soldiers or hostages is usually published by Hebrew news outlets with the phrase “permitted for publication” at the top of the item.

Sunday’s strike has not been endorsed by the country’s powerful Histadrut labor union, but has nevertheless been backed by local municipalities, businesses across the country, universities, and various unions, including the Israel Airports Authority employees’ union.

Zangauker’s call was picked up by........

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