Opposition leader Yair Lapid says in order to get the captives back, Israel should stop its attack on Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

“If you want to eradicate Hamas, you must first take out the abductees. I already said in the Knesset and to the prime minister personally that there is full backing for any deal, no matter how painful it may be. And if the price is a cessation of hostilities, let that be the price,” GLZ Radio quoted Lapid as saying.

In a sign of the pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces at home, thousands of Israelis protested in Tel Aviv calling for new elections. Others demonstrated outside his house, joining families of the more than 100 remaining captives held in Gaza. They fear Israel’s military activity further endangers hostages’ lives.

Netanyahu is also under heat to appease members of his right-wing ruling coalition by intensifying the onslaught against Hamas, while contending with calls for restraint from the United States.