Inserts:

00:03 Report / Emily Gordine 
00:36 Rula Daood / Standing Together movement
01:24 Matan Vilnai / Former Israeli commander in Gaza

TEXT: 
 
A group of Israeli antiwar protesters gather near the Erez crossing north of Gaza, on Wednesday evening. 
  
Some are distributing signs showing dead Palestinian children– something that has become more common at demonstrations across Israel.  
  
VOX POP
Because they are children and they are dying, and we are responsible for that.”  
  
This protest was organised by the Arab Israeli Standing Together Movement which advocates peace and equality.  
  
They have been at the forefront of Israel’s antiwar protests.   
  
SOT Rula Daood, Standing Together: 
What we need, we need peace. And that can happen not by occupying Gaza but by leaving Gaza. Getting out of Gaza. Letting humanitarian aid get in.  
 
((Reuters footage))  
On the same evening, hostage families rally in Tel Aviv. They're calling for an end to the war...with a deal to bring their loved ones back. 
Several protesters tried to push open the gate to the military headquarters but were blocked by police.  
 
((General footage))  
Earlier this week, some of Israel's most venerable military and intelligence leaders wrote an open letter to US President Donald Trump to pressure Israel into ending the war.  
 
In it they said:  
"It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel." 
  
Among them Matan Vilnai, former deputy head of the IDF who himself once commanded Israeli forces in Gaza.  

SOT Matan Vilnai, Former deputy head of the IDF:
“I know Hamas and I what is the meaning of fighting terror and I know Gaza. (...) As a force, they return back to be a terror group. In October, they were a terror army. It’s not the same. It’s absolutely different. They had battalions, companies, platoons, a chain of command, logistics, idea how to do it, large numbers. Not anymore.”  
 
Other prominent figures have joined calls to end the war ... hundreds of artists including musicians, writers and actors signed a petition titled “Stop the horror in Gaza”. 
 
They, too, want to see the hostages returned and an end to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.  
 
With the latter, they’re highlighting an issue that - until now - hasn't gotten much mainstream coverage in Israel. 
 
And they’ve faced a massive backlash – like this protest here.  
  
And Israel’s prime minister himself shows no sign of bowing to their demands either...  

END