Demonstrators took to the streets across Israel Sunday, calling for an end to the war on Gaza and a deal to release captives still held in the Palestinian Strip, as the army prepares a new assault.

The protests come more than a week after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to occupy Gaza City, following 22 months of war that have created catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory.

Forty-nine Israelis remain in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Demonstrators also blocked several roads in the city, including the highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where demonstrators set tires on fire and caused traffic jams, according to local media footage.

Protest organisers and the main campaign group representing the families of captives also called for a general strike on Sunday -- the first day of the week in Israel.

In Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, many businesses were shut.

"I think it's time to end the war. It's time to release all of the hostages. And it's time to help Israel recover and move towards a more stable Middle East," said Doron Wilfand, a 54-year-old tour guide, at a rally in Jerusalem.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said in a statement that protesters would shut down the country today (Sunday).

The forum plans to set up a protest tent near the Gaza border.

Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce that would include captive release, after the last round of talks in Qatar had ended without a breakthrough.

Some Israeli government members who oppose any deal with the Palestinians slammed Sunday's demonstrations.

Israel's extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decried "a perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas".

He claimed that public pressure to secure a deal effectively buries the Israelis held in Gaza "in tunnels and seeks to push Israel "to surrender to its enemies and jeopardise its security and future".

Culture Minister Miki Zohar, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, said on X that blocking roads and disrupting daily life "is a serious mistake and a reward to the enemy".

Israeli police beefed up forces, saying no "public order disturbances" would be tolerated.

Famine warning
AFPTV footage showed protesters at a rally in Beeri, a settlement near the Gaza border, and Israeli media reported protests in numerous locations across the country.

The Israeli plans to expand the war into Gaza City and nearby refugee camps have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.

UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.

Israel has killed more than 61,897 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, since October 2023.