Israel.- Relatives of the hostages will set up tents on the Gaza border as part of the strike.

MADRID, 17 (EUROPA PRESS)

Relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip have announced they will set up tents on the border with the Palestinian enclave as part of a strike called to pressure the Israeli government to halt the expansion of its offensive.

The Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons said in a statement reported by The Times of Israel that the Israeli government's "stubbornness" forces them to "intensify the fight and do everything possible to recover" their loved ones, even if it means sleeping just a few meters from the border with the Palestinian enclave.

A group of protesters with loudspeakers began blocking some of the roads leading to the country's main cities, such as Tel Aviv, early this morning, placing pickets and signs to prevent vehicles from passing.

Nearly a million people are expected to gather in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square for a day of strikes featuring hundreds of activities, culminating in a mass rally outside the Kirya military headquarters in the late afternoon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to occupy Gaza City and the camps in the center of the enclave has been harshly criticized by family members, who consider the operation a death sentence for the approximately 20 hostages still alive in the Strip.