Thousands of people gathered at a rally in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Saturday. They urged the government to concentrate on securing the release of the hostages, instead of expanding the military operation in Gaza.

The participants demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign to take responsibility for his inability to solve the hostage issue.

Negotiations aimed at achieving a cease-fire and securing the release of the hostages have been suspended, as Israel and Hamas have failed to see eye to eye.

Israeli media outlets have quoted Israeli officials as saying that the negotiations will continue, as they have not yet failed completely.

Hamas said in a statement that it will reconsider its strategies for the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have been increasing pressure on Hamas by expanding their military operations in Rafah, which is located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

In a new notice issued by the Israeli military on Saturday, people in central Rafah were advised to evacuate. The military had issued a notice advising people in eastern Rafah to evacuate last Monday.

On Saturday, a Palestinian media outlet reported that seven Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Rafah.

Health authorities in the enclave announced that 34,971 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began.