Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid promised to "work to bring down Benjamin Netanyahu's government and to return Israeli captives from Gaza." In a speech to protesters calling for a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas in Tel Aviv, Lapid stated that "Israel is going through difficult days, and the country desperately needs Netanyahu out of our lives." He explained that "my mission is to do everything so that your power turns into political change at the right moment." On Saturday, thousands demonstrated in several Israeli cities, demanding an urgent prisoner exchange deal and early elections.