Pressure Intensifies on Netanyahu at Home

Benjamin Netanyahu weathered massive protests in Israel before the Hamas attack in October. Now, he's once again under what the BBC describes as "career-ending pressure" as protests resume in force. Details and related coverage:

• Huge protests: Tens of thousands demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday against Netanyahu's government, reports Reuters. Clusters of tents near the Israeli parliament suggested many would remain for days, per the New York Times. And on Saturday, thousands marched in Tel Aviv demanding a ceasefire deal to free hostages taken by Hamas.
• Hospital withdrawal: On the war front, Israeli forces on Monday withdrew from the main hospital in Gaza after a two-week raid, reports the AP. Israel says it killed about 200 Palestinians and made hundreds of arrests during the fighting in and around Al-Shifa Hospital.

• Many issues: In addition to the plight of the hostages and the execution of the war in Gaza, protesters are angry over the issue of exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox men to keep them out of military service. They also say Netanyahu's controversial judicial reforms last year divided the nation and made it vulnerable to the Hamas attack, per the AP. "This government is a complete and utter failure," is how one 74-year-old protester puts it, per Reuters. "They will lead us into the abyss."
• Futile? "I'm telling Netanyahu that I would be glad to pay [a] one-way ticket, first class, for him to go out and not come back anymore," protester Katia Amorza, whose son is serving in Gaza, tells the BBC. However, Axios offers what it calls a "reality check" for protesters: "Although domestic political pressure on Netanyahu is growing, he isn't going anywhere, and his government isn't under imminent threat of collapsing."
• Hernia: Netanyahu had hernia surgery Sunday night, and a Jerusalem hospital said the 74-year-old was recuperating well on Monday from the successful procedure, per the Hill.

(More Benjamin Netanyahu stories.)