Israelis angry at Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Hamas hostage crisis protest in Tel Aviv

• Israelis gathered to protest Netanyahu's handling of the Hamas hostage crisis on Saturday.
• Protesters blamed Netanyahu for failing to prevent the Hamas attacks, which killed 1,300 people.

When Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, first launched a series of surprise attacks on Israel that killed more than 1,300 people, they also took an estimated 150 people hostage.

Now, dozens of people standing in solidarity with the hostages and their families are protesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the crisis, The Times of Israel reported.

"I want Benjamin Netanyahu and all his people to go home because they've abandoned residents of the south and they're not interested in the lives of residents there and instead they're obsessed with small politics," protester Monica Levy told the outlet.

The protesters accused Netanyahu of caring more about his political survival than protecting Israeli citizens. One sign read, "There's no trust, quit," according to The Times of Israel. Another one read, "We've been abandoned."

Some Israelis have also criticized Netanyahu for not reaching out to the families of those taken hostage.

While the Hamas attacks have led to a wartime unity government for Netanyahu, the long-term political repercussions could be substantial.

Netanyahu's far-right, ultra-Orthodox government has long held itself up as taking security seriously.

But security forces in Israel were largely focused in recent weeks and months on continuous protests within Israel over Netanyahu's efforts to curb the power of the country's supreme court. Protesters said the move was a pivot toward authoritarianism. Netanyahu said it was necessary to address "activist" judges.

Israel's own Air Force chief warned in July that the dust-up over judicial reforms was an opportunity for Israel's enemies and represented a security threat to the country.

Netanyahu's government has also vastly expanded settlement activity in the occupied West Bank in recent months, ratcheting up tensions between Israel and Palestinians. Hamas said in June that the settlement expansion would only increase tensions in the region.

Haaretz, Israel's left-leaning and longest-running newspaper, published an editorial on Sunday titled, "Netanyahu Bears Responsibility for This Israel-Gaza War."

"The prime minister, who has prided himself on his vast political experience and irreplaceable wisdom in security matters, completely failed to identify the dangers he was consciously leading Israel into when establishing a government of annexation and dispossession," the editorial reads.

The authors also argued that Netanyahu "openly ignored the existence and rights of Palestinians," which it said contributed to the October 7 attacks.

The United States, meanwhile, said it was working with the Israeli government to help with the hostage crisis, US officials told NBC News on Thursday.

"The biggest challenge is intelligence — knowing where hostages are located and the conditions under which they are being held," Joseph Votel, a retired US Army general who previously led US Central Command and Special Operations Command, told NBC News.

Netanyahu, for his part, visited Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border Saturday afternoon, according to a video his office posted to X.