Many Israelis feel that freeing the hostages cannot happen if the government refuses to come to terms with Hamas and pursues its policy of trying to eliminate the group militarily.

Israelis took to the streets on Sunday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to conquer the rest of the Gaza Strip rather than attempt to negotiate an end to the war under which Hamas would free its last hostages.

Polls show that close to 80% of Israelis support stopping the fighting in exchange for the return of hostages, but the government plans to expand it.