Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Israelis to join a demonstration in which thousands will participate, on Saturday evening, in Tel Aviv (centre) to demand the return of prisoners, and against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lapid said in a blog post on his account on the

Lapid added: "We will not abandon the kidnappers. We will not abandon the homeland. We will not lose hope."

For its part, the private Israeli Channel 13 said, “It is expected that demonstrations will take place tonight (Saturday) throughout the country in support of the kidnappers and against the government - on the eve of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington to deliver a speech before the US Congress.”

She added that the demonstrators will demand that Netanyahu agree to a prisoner exchange deal before his trip to Washington.

According to the channel, the families of the prisoners are scheduled to make a statement near the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv at 18:15 pm (15:15 GMT).

At 19:30 (16:30 GMT), protests are expected to be held against the Israeli government at the Kaplan intersection in Tel Aviv, as well as near Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea (north).

In addition, the Israeli police announced the closure of many roads in Tel Aviv, in preparation for mass demonstrations in the city, one of which will also be held in what has become known as “Kidnappers Square” in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

On Sunday, for the first time since the formation of his current government in December 2022, Netanyahu is scheduled to conduct a diplomatic visit to Washington.

On Monday, Netanyahu will meet US President Joe Biden in Washington, and will deliver a speech before Congress two days later, according to the Hebrew newspaper “Haaretz”.

The families of the prisoners and a large segment of the Israeli public and political system blame Netanyahu for not reaching a deal to return the prisoners, by setting more conditions and obstacles.

At the beginning of June, US President Biden presented the terms of the deal offered to him by Israel to “stop the fighting and release all the kidnapped,” and Hamas accepted it at the time.

But Netanyahu added new conditions that Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Mossad Chief David Barnea considered would hinder reaching a deal, including preventing the return of Palestinian “militants” from the south of the Gaza Strip to its north by searching the returnees on the Natansarim axis (established by the Israeli army near Gaza City and separating the north from The Gaza Strip to its south), and the Israeli army remains in the Philadelphia axis (on the border between Gaza and Egypt), which it announced control of on May 29.

For months, mediation efforts led by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and the Hamas movement that would guarantee an exchange of prisoners from both sides and a ceasefire, leading to ensuring the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian Strip.

However, mediation efforts were hampered due to Netanyahu's refusal to respond to Hamas's demands to stop the war.