Thousands of Israelis demand Netanyahu's ouster in mass protest

Thousands of Israelis calling for boosted efforts to free the hostages held in Gaza and the ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marched in Jerusalem Sunday, the second consecutive night of mass protests.

Demonstrators blocked a main city highway after earlier rallying in front of the Israeli parliament, lighting fires and waving Israeli flags.

Police used water cannon against them, jostling and pushing protesters back as they shouted that Netanyahu "must go".

Protesters claimed the Jerusalem protest was the biggest since the war in Gaza broke out in October.

Pressure has been growing on Netanyahu as those opposed to his ring-wing government and the hostages' families have found common cause.

Families of the hostages held in Gaza say they will take to the streets every night this week in a bid to "bring them home".

Thousands who gathered Saturday in two separate protests in Tel Aviv -- Israel's largest city --  blocked the city main motorway for nearly two hours.

Others picketed Netanyahu's Jerusalem home Saturday chanting slogans and calling for him to quit.

Protester Dana Rabfogel Shor, who demonstrated on both nights, told AFP that anger at Netanyahu over the Hamas's October 7 attack and his handling of the country was reaching boiling point.

"People are raging, they are tired, they want elections. They blame Bibi (Netanyahu) and the government, which says it is not responsible for anything," she said.

The art therapist from Tel Aviv held a placard with a picture of her distant cousin Itay Svirsky, who was killed in the Hamas attack.

Many protesters carried placards of Netanyahu's face covered in blood, accusing him of failing to protect the country from Hamas.

"UR the boss, UR to blame," read messages written on signs held by the protesters. Others said "Elections now!"

Even before the war, Netanyahu -- who said he is having to undergo hernia surgery -- faced months of street protests over controversial judicial reform.

Hamas militants seized about 250 hostages on October 7, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.

Israel has been traumatised by the unprecedented Hamas attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,782 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Israeli PM operated on successfully

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent "successful" hernia surgery, his office said on Monday.

Netanyahu was "in good shape and beginning to recover", his office said in a statement after the operation on Sunday evening, which was closely watched as the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip nears six months.

Doctors discovered the hernia on Saturday during a routine checkup, and after consultations the decision was made for the premier to undergo surgery after completing his daily schedule, his office said.

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday evening to call for Netanyahu's resignation and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has so far killed at least 32,782 people, mostly women and children, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday.

Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills four, wounds 17

An Israeli air strike on a Gaza hospital Sunday killed four people and wounded 17, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The strike at Al-Aqsa hospital was witnessed by a World Health Organization team sent there to assess needs and to collect incubators for the north of Gaza, Tedros said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Israel's military denied that the hospital was damaged.

"A WHO team was on a humanitarian mission at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza, when a tent camp inside the hospital compound was hit by an Israeli airstrike today," the WHO chief wrote.

He gave no details of the victims, but added: "WHO staff are all accounted for."

The Israeli army said on X that one of its planes "struck an operational Islamic Jihad command center and terrorists positioned in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the area of Deir al Balah.

"Following the precise strike, the Al-Aqsa hospital building was not damaged and its function was not affected," it added.

Tedros said in a later post that 21 patients had died at Al-Shifa hospital in the northern Gaza City since March 18.

The hospital, which was Gaza's largest before the war broke out, has only one bottle of water available for every 15 people, he said.

Tedros renewed his appeal for patients, health professionals and aid workers to be protected during the conflict, and for attacks on hospitals to stop.

"We again call for protection of patients, health personnel and humanitarian missions," he added.

"The ongoing attacks and militarisation of hospitals must stop. International humanitarian law must be respected."

Tedros urged all parties to the conflict to comply with the UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.

Since an unprecedented October 7 attack Hamas launched out of the Gaza Strip, Israel has said it will destroy the movement and has relentlessly bombed the Palestinian territory.

There are 10 hospitals in the Gaza Strip still functioning at a minimum level, compared to 36 before the start of the war, according to the WHO.

As well as air strikes there has also been fierce ground fighting in and around hospitals in the territory, where many Gazans fleeing the violence have taken shelter.

Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,782 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

Israeli army withdraws from Al-Shifa

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Monday the Israeli military had withdrawn tanks and vehicles from the complex housing the besieged territory's main hospital, Al-Shifa, days after the launch of a major operation on the site.

The ministry said dozens of bodies had been found at the complex, where an AFP journalist and eyewitnesses saw tanks and vehicles pulling out. The Israeli military, which has described its operation as a "precise" one targeting Hamas militants, did not immediately confirm any pullout.