Chaos inside Israeli parliament as protesters storm building and smear yellow paint across gallery windows - as anti-Netanyahu demos rock the country

Chaos has erupted in the Israeli parliament after protesters stormed the building and smeared yellow paint across the gallery windows.

The protestors were demonstrating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to return all of Hamas's hostages home as demonstrations continue to rock the country.

Around 20 demonstrators, some of whom were relatives of the hostages, broke into the visitors’ gallery in the Knesset and smeared the paint on the viewing windows above the chamber with their hands.

They believe not enough government action has been taken to free their loved ones after 180 days in captivity. 

Hamas militants seized about 250 hostages on October 7, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.  

Chaos has erupted in the Israeli parliament after protesters stormed the building and smeared yellow paint across the gallery windows

The protestors were demonstrating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's failure to return all of Hamas 's hostages home as demonstrations continue to rock the country

Around 20 demonstrators, some of whom were relatives of the hostages, broke into the visitors’ gallery in the Knesset and smeared the paint on the viewing windows above the chamber with their hands

Some protestors threw yellow paint on the ceiling. Yellow is a colour that has been adopted to symbolise the plight of the captives and is usually represented in the form of a yellow ribbon. 

The parliament's security staff confronted the protestors and wrestled them away from the window, before eventually pushing them out of the gallery.

In the chamber below, where legislators were voting on a climate-related bill, a number of opposition lawmakers raised their hands in solidarity with the protestors.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid expressed sympathy for the families and said: 'Our hearts are with you, the families of the protesters. We will fight with you.'

The Knesset paint demonstration comes after thousands of demonstrators yesterday gathered outside the parliament to share their rage at Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza, which has so far killed nearly 33,000 people

They were joined by families of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza as well as the former prime minister Ehud Barak who blamed Netanyahu for the October 7 'disaster' and demanded an election.

Some 3,000 of the protesters later marched to Netanyahu's home to shout slogans demanding he resign, with police saying some 'rioters' tried to rip away barriers outside.

The protestors left yellow handprints on the windows. Yellow is a colour that has been adopted to symbolise the plight of the captives and is usually represented in the form of a yellow ribbon

Pressure on Netanyahu has been building recently as protestors have continued to take to the streets

Israeli anti government protesters hold torches during a protest outside the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday

Protesters were heard outside Netanyahu's house shouting slogans demanding he resign on Tuesday

People march in a rally in Jerusalem on Tuesday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip

Anti-government protesters gather with signs and candles during a protest in Jerusalem on Tuesday 

Mounted officers reportedly charged into the crowd to stop them from breaking through, while water cannons were also deployed to disperse the furious crowds.

At Tuesday's rally in front of parliament, some of the families accused Israel's longest-serving leader of trying to use the war to prolong his hold on power.

Merav Svirsky, who lost both her parents in the Hamas attack, and whose brother was later murdered in Gaza, said Netanyahu is in no hurry to free the hostages. 

'The basic duty of the state is to ensure the return of the abducted. I was naive, I didn't realise that our prime minister is not interested in bringing them back because of political considerations,' she said.

Hostage families are also furious at Netanyahu, whom they say has not really pushed to have them freed.

'You are a pharaoh, a slayer of firstborns - 240 were kidnapped on your watch - it's your fault,' declared Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is one of the 134 still being held in Gaza by Hamas.

'You failed on October 7 in every possible way,' she declared, and now 'you are an obstacle to a hostage deal'.

Zangauker said Netanyahu had tried to blacken the hostage families for protesting while the country was at war. They said: 'You call us traitors when you are the traitor, a traitor to your people, to the State of Israel.'

Palestinians inspect the damage at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex housing the hospital on April 1

A Palestinian woman and child sit amidst the rubble of Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex

Former premier Barak said if Netanyahu launches a ground offensive on Rafah, the 'hostages will return in coffins'. He added: 'The one who abandoned them on October 7 is now sacrificing them on the altar of absolute victory.'

He called for snap elections, saying 'the man responsible' for the calamity should be 'removed from the steering wheel'.

The usually bullish Netanyahu has appeared both physically and politically fragile after leaving a hospital in Jerusalem today after a hernia operation.

Visibly frail and sallow, Netanyahu was short-tempered and distracted during a television speech Saturday which his former minister and Likud colleague Limor Livnat called 'catastrophic'.

The left-wing daily Haaretz said he looked 'like a frightened tyrant'.

Netanyahu was even more gaunt when he left hospital only to have to face the ire of the international community after an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers for a US-based group in Gaza.

'It happens in war,' Netanyahu said with a tact which may not have been appreciated in the White House, which said it was 'heartbroken' at the deaths.

'Netanyahu has been buried politically many times before and bounced back,' said Emmanuel Navon, a former Likud member and political science professor.

'But this time is different because of October 7. It is not the same country. It's over for Bibi. He is 74, doesn't do any exercise, has a very hard job and he had a pacemaker put in six months ago.'

Family members and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, carrying signs and Israeli flags, lit a bonfire during a rally outside the Kirya military headquarters on Saturday

Hamas militants seized about 250 hostages on October 7, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza , including 33 who are presumed dead. Pictured: Protestors on Saturday

One placard on Saturday had pictures of Netanyahu's face next to the text: 'UR the boss, UR to blame'

But Navon doubts Netanyahu will be forced from office by the new wave of mass street protests despite the fury of the hostages' families.

Pressure on Netanyahu has been building recently as thousands of protestors lit fires and gagged themselves in objection to the government's failure to retrieve the hostages on Saturday night. 

Pictures taken on Saturday night show thousands of people taking to Kaplan Street in the city, the site of weekly anti-government protests.

Some held placards putting the blame for the hostages' fate on Netanyahu, with pictures of his face next to the text: 'UR the boss, UR to blame.'

Police accused the anti-government protesters of being 'rioters' and said the demonstration was illegal.

There have been several clashes between police and protestors as the officers blocked Begin Road in Tel Aviv while protestors lit bonfires outside the Kirya military headquarters.

The weekly demonstrations on the Tel Aviv plaza renamed by campaigners Hostages Square came as anti-government protesters also gathered nearby outside the Ministry of Defence. 

Twenty families of hostages previously told the press that Netanyahu was the 'obstacle to a deal', claiming he was making decisions without consulting the cabinet and only serving his own interests.

Demonstrators on Saturday wore gags and had their hands loosely bound to symbolise the plight on the hostages

Police on Saturday accused the anti-government protesters of being 'rioters' and said the demonstration was illegal. Pictured: Police detain a man

The police said they have arrested 16 people in Tel Aviv on Saturday 

Netanyahu's popularity in Israel has fallen since the war, with critics suggesting he could be prolonging the war to stay in power.

'Netanyahu came into the war already with low popularity ratings,' Mairav Zonszein, the International Crisis Group's senior Israel-Palestine analyst, told The New Arab.

'After October 7, he lost all legitimacy and a lot of Israelis hold him responsible for what happened,' Zonszein said. 'People want to see Netanyahu out.'

Only 15 per cent of Israelis now want him to stay in the role once the war ends.

The domestic turmoil in Israel comes after the world has begun to turn on the state after a drone strike killed seven international aid workers in Gaza on Monday.  

Israel has been traumatised by the unprecedented Hamas attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Its retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,916 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

The United Nations Security Council last week supported calls for a ceasefire urging that all hostages still held captive in Gaza should also be released.

Resolution 2728 is understood to be non-binding and is not expected to have an immediate impact on the ongoing conflict.

Israel is not expected to heed the call for an immediate ceasefire, and Hamas is not expected to immediately and unconditionally release the remaining 134 hostages.

Gaza is home to some 2.3million people - 1.7million of whom have been displaced by the war, according to the United Nations Population Fund.