Protesters in support of hostages took to the streets of Jerusalem and marched towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence to voice their anger over the Gaza City takeover plan.
Former soldier, Max Kresch, marched holding a sign that read “I refused”.
“We’re over 350 soldiers who served during the war and were refusing to continue to serve in Netanyahu’s political war,” he told the BBC’s Emir Nader.
Protests happened across Israel in cities such as Haifa. Thousands of people also gathered in Tel Aviv.
Israel’s decision to expand its war in Gaza sparked condemnation from the UN and several countries including the UK, France and Canada, and prompted Germany to halt military exports to Israel.
The plan, approved by the Israeli security cabinet, lists five “principles” for ending the war: disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarising the Gaza Strip, taking security control of the territory, and establishing “an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority”.