24-hour rally marks 100 days of captivity in Tel Aviv over the weekend

Around 120,000 people were estimated to have attended the opening of a 24-hour rally for the Israeli hostages being held captive in Gaza. The event took place in Tel Aviv on Saturday. 

The rally was held to mark 100 days since the hostages were taken captive during the Oct. 7 invasion. 

The Hostages and Missing Families' Forum called on the government to hold its weekly Cabinet meeting at “Hostage Square.”

The rally – the largest since the judicial reform protests last year – was mostly peaceful, however, several groups protested against Netanyahu's government. One group of protesters blocked the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, causing police to come to clear the area. The Forum denied any involvement in the blocking of the highway. Six people were reportedly arrested in the incident. 

A group in the crowd held a massive banner which read: “And the world remains silent.” 

Families of hostages spoke to the crowds, calling on them to push for the government to do whatever it can to bring the hostages home. 

Ronen Neutra, the father of Omer Neutra, a captured Israeli soldier being held by terrorists in Gaza, said, “It's time to bring them back. Now! Bring them back!” 

“They are being held in terrible conditions. They are starving. They are dying,” Neutra said. 

Several dignitaries also addressed the rally, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke via video message. Three French citizens are believed to be among the remaining hostages held in Gaza. 

"France does not abandon its children," Macron said. "That is why we have to resume negotiations again and again for their release.” 

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew also addressed the crowd. 

Lew told the rally participants that the United States is “working around the clock with the governments of Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and any other nation that can aid in this mission. We won't rest until everyone is returned home. We are united in the demand to bring them back now.” 

"I stand with you," Lew said. "President Biden and the U.S. are determined to bring all the remaining abductees home.” 

There has been little progress toward a new hostage release deal, as Israel and Hamas have both made demands which the other is unwilling to accept. 

On Saturday, Israel announced a deal, brokered by Qatar, to deliver medicines to the hostages through the International Red Cross. However, there is no confirmation that the deal has being implemented so far. 

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, who is also a minister in Israel's War Cabinet, attended the rally but did not address the crowd.

A "tunnel" constructed by industrial artist Roni Levavi and installed outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art was on display. The tunnel was built to demonstrate the experience of being held in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza to garner support for the hostages.

Family members and friends of hostages went through the tunnel, writing comments and notes for the hostages on the walls. 

Several former hostages also addressed the crowds, saying time is running out for the hostages.