Organisers claim Saturday's rally against Israeli government biggest yet

Tens of thousands of protesters waving Israeli flags and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding new elections and the return of hostages held in Gaza, AFP reported.

Many protesters held signs reading "Crime Minister" and "Stop the War" as people poured into the biggest Israeli city's main thoroughfare.

"I am here because I am afraid of the future of my grandchild. There will be no future for them if we don't go out and get rid of the horrible government," said 66-year-old contractor Shai Erel.

"All of the rats in the Knesset… I wouldn't let any one of them be a guard of a kindergarten."

Anti-government protest organisation Hofshi Israel estimated more than 150,000 people attended the rally, calling it the biggest since the Gaza war began.

In an address to the crowd, a former head of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency, Yuval Diskin, condemned Netanyahu as Israel's "worst prime minister".