Weeks of anti-government protests continued as Netanyahu's wife Sara was surrounded in hair salon. The police rescued Sara from there.

Israeli police have fired stun grenades and water cannons at demonstrators who blocked a Tel Aviv highway and protesters scuffled with police near the Israeli leader's home as weeks of anti-government protests turned violent for the first time.

Thousands of protesters across the country staged a "national disruption day," the latest in a string of mass protests against the Netanyahu-led government's judicial reforms.

In Tel Aviv, crowds of protesters amassed outside a salon where PM Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara, had gone to get her hair done late on Wednesday. Israeli media said police were called to rescue her as protesters chanted, "The country is burning and Sara is getting a haircut!"

Videos on social media showed hundreds of people outside the building, screaming and blowing horns. In one video, dozens of members from the paramilitary border police rushed through the streets of Tel Aviv toward the salon, and the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called on the forces to "protect her life."

Police announced several hours later that they had successfully "rescued" Mrs. Netanyahu. 

Amateur videos showed her being whisked into a black vehicle that drove away as the crowd chanted "shame." Netanyahu later tweeted a photo of him embracing his wife, saying she had returned home safely. "The anarchy has to stop," he said. "This can lead to the loss of life."