Israel Detains Eighteen Anti-War Protesters

(MENAFN) Israeli police detained 18 people across two cities Saturday as demonstrators took to the streets in protest against the ongoing war on Iran, according to media reports.

The bulk of the arrests — 13 in total — occurred at a demonstration held at Habima Square in central Tel Aviv, according to a newspaper. Authorities stated that protesters disrupted public order and refused to comply with officers' directives. The newspaper reported that clashes erupted between demonstrators and police during the rally, resulting in the detention of several individuals whom police labeled "rioters."

Five additional arrests were made at a separate protest in the northern city of Haifa, where approximately 100 demonstrators had gathered at Horev Junction, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Police cited disturbances to public order as the grounds for those detentions.

The domestic unrest reflects deepening divisions within Israeli society over a war that began on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched a coordinated air offensive against Iran — a campaign that has since killed more than 1,340 people, among them former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has met the offensive with a sustained barrage of retaliatory drone and missile strikes aimed at Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf states hosting American military forces — inflicting casualties, battering critical infrastructure, and sending persistent shockwaves through global financial markets and international aviation networks. As the human and economic cost of the conflict mounts, Saturday's street protests suggest that pressure on the Israeli government from within its own borders may be growing alongside the violence abroad.

MENAFN29032026000045017169ID1110914185