Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked roads and a railway line across Israel in protests against military conscription, with confrontations reported between demonstrators and security forces, Israeli police said on Thursday.
Protesters blocked major motorways across the country on Thursday evening, including in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, causing traffic jams nationwide.
The Israeli news site ynet reported that police also deployed stun grenades and water cannon.
A female motorist who stepped out of her car holding a stick was attacked by demonstrators, according to the report. No further details about the incident were immediately available.
The Israeli emergency medical service Magen David Adom also reported that a 93-year-old man was injured after being struck by a vehicle during the protest.
Reports of chaos at airport
According to media reports, the strictly religious demonstrators also entered railway tracks, forcing trains on the line between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to halt at Ben Gurion international airport. Several media outlets reported chaotic conditions at the airport, with hundreds of passengers affected.
Flight operations were continuing normally, according to official statements.
The protests were triggered by the arrest of ultra-Orthodox conscientious objectors.
Strictly religious men in Israel had long been exempt from military service. That exemption expired in 2024, and the government has since failed in attempts to extend it by legislation.
There have been repeated large-scale protests by strictly religious Jews against their conscription ever since.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews regard military service as a threat to their devout way of life, in part because men and women serve together. The army, meanwhile, has issued urgent warnings about a drastic shortage of combat-ready soldiers.
