Hundreds of demonstrators have gathered in Tel Aviv and some other Israeli cities on Saturday to protest the war in the Middle East, in unauthorised demonstrations that security forces seek to disperse, AFP reports.

Several former parliamentarians and prominent left-wing organisations have joined the rallies, including Standing Together, Peace Now and Women Wage Peace.

AFP footage shows law enforcement officers removing demonstrators in Tel Aviv. Activists in the northern city of Haifa have filmed similar scenes.

Under wartime security guidelines, gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited in Israel, as the country faces daily barrages of missiles and rockets from Iran and Lebanon. A spokesperson for one of the organising groups has told AFP that the protests had not been authorised.

In Tel Aviv, AFP journalists report that security forces have pushed back some demonstrators forcefully, knocking several to the ground — at times on top of one another — while at least one protester was held in a chokehold.