Tens of thousands of protesters gather in Tel Aviv to demand end to Gaza war
The rally on Sunday evening was the culmination of a day of nationwide protests and a general strike to pressure the government to halt the military campaign. 'Bring them all home! Stop the war!' shouted the vast crowd, which had converged on the so-called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv plaza – a focal point for protesters throughout the war.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the initiator of the day of protest, estimated that about 500,000 people joined the demonstration in Tel Aviv – a figure not confirmed by the police. 'We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war,' said Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and a leading figure of the protest movement.
'We demand what is rightfully ours – our children. The Israeli government has transformed a just war into a pointless war.'
National media published a video message by Matan Zangauker on Sunday, in which the hostage, weak and emaciated, addressed his family and told them he missed them. The video was filmed by Hamas and found in Gaza by the army, the family said.
'This is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages,' demonstrator Ofir Penso, 50, told AFP.
The protests come more than a week after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, 22 months into a war that has created a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group vowed on Sunday that protesters would 'shut down the country' with the goal of bringing back the hostages and ending the war.
Throughout Israel, demonstrators blocked traffic arteries, set tyres on fire and clashed with the police. More than 30 protesters were arrested, law enforcement said.
Netanyahu criticised the protesters, saying their actions 'not only harden Hamas's position and draw out the release of our hostages, but also ensure that the horrors of 7 October will reoccur'.
Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce deal that includes hostages being released, after the last round of talks in Qatar ended without a breakthrough.
Some Israeli government members who oppose any deal with Hamas hit out at Sunday's demonstrations. Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, decried a 'perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas' and calls for 'surrender'.
However, Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, condemned the government for 'attacking the families of the hostages' while 'bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years'.
Israel's military offensive has killed at least 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, most of them civilians. The figure does not include the thousands believed to be buried under rubble or the thousands killed indirectly as a consequence of the war.
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BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
BBC witnesses settlers attack on Palestinian farm in West Bank
From among the broken remains of Brahim Hamaiel's olive trees, in the occupied West Bank, we saw the masked men approach.A dozen settlers, charging down from the illegal outpost above his farm and across the field towards us, moving fast and carrying large sticks.A sudden and unprovoked had been showing us the trees he said had been hacked to pieces this week by settlers from the outpost. His family have farmed olives here on land near Turmus Aya, for generations, making it a target for extremist settlers who think killing Palestinian trees and livestock will also kill the idea of a Palestinian State, by forcing residents like Brahim off their land."Fear is natural," Brahim had told me, looking up at the ridge where tarpaulin flapped at the settlers' lookout post in front of a few caravans and makeshift homes. "But there's something stronger than fear that drives me to stay here – the scent of my ancestors and an attachment dating back hundreds of years – even if I pay the price with my blood."As the masked men run towards us, we pull back to the road and drive a safe distance minutes, some of Brahim's neighbours from the surrounding farms and villages gather with catapults and stones to confront the attackers. Vegetation by the side of the road is set on fire, its smoke signalling the site of the confrontation, as settlers on a quad bike chase away a volunteer emergency crew trying to reach a farmhouse in the middle of the field.'Stop shooting! My daughter is dead': Woman killed as West Bank power struggle ragesThis is now a familiar routine. Palestinians living in these villages south of Nablus say there are attacks and confrontations on their lands every week, and that settlers are using these kinds of tactics to take over the land, field by the speed and spread of this attack is little more than an hour, dozens of settlers had fanned out across the hills. We watched as they broke into an isolated building, and methodically set fire to vehicles and on the furthest ridge rushed their flocks away, as the hillside behind them broke into flames, smoke billowing up from several then, Palestinians arriving from across the area to help their neighbours found the main access road blocked by the Israeli army, as the destruction Palestinian was reportedly beaten by settlers, and the army later told us that both sides had hurled rocks at each other, and that Palestinians had burned tyres. 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They have weapons, we have nothing."We later learned that settlers had torched part of their property, and that Rifa's husband had been left with cuts to his face and leg, after being hit with Israeli organisation Peace Now, which monitors the spread of settlements in the West Bank, says the number of outposts – and settler aggression – has multiplied since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, and the Gaza War that olive harvest under threat from Israeli attacks and restrictionsSince the beginning of last year, it says, some 100 outposts have appeared across the West Bank. It also found that hundreds of square kilometres of land had been taken over by settlers in the past few years using the same violent pattern of intimidation – encouraged, it says, by government support and a lack of proper law enforcement by week, Israel's far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced the creation of thousands of new housing units in a large West Bank settlement bloc further south, saying it would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state".Between 5-11 August, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs documented at least 27 settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage or both, across two dozen different communities. These attacks, it said, led to the displacement of 18 weren't able to speak to any of the settlers involved in the attack we witnessed. The local settlers' council told us there were elements on both sides seeking provocation, which it strongly told us he had filed two separate complaints about the attacks on his land, but few Palestinians here have much faith in Israeli justice or security forces, saying repeatedly that they protect only the of the volunteer emergency crews who came to help during the clashes on Saturday told me the Israeli army had prevented them from reaching the scene."We were trying to rescue the young men, when the army came, honking at us and telling us to get away from here," Yahya al-Khatib said. "We were volunteers wearing our vests. We're not here to attack or harm settlers. We want to put out fires and treat injured people. But they [the army] stop us and stand in our way." Tensions between local residents and settlers are complicated by the increasingly heavy control of Israeli forces across the West Bank, which has seen the evacuation and widespread demolition of refugee camps across the northern West January to June this year, the UN found that 149 Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in the occupied West Bank. Nine Israelis were killed by after the clashes that erupted around Brahim's farm on Saturday, another Palestinian casualty was added to that grim Hamdan Abu-Elaya was shot and killed by Israeli troops in al- Mughayyir village, a few miles from Brahim's mother told us he'd gone to see the fires lit by settlers nearby. "I raised him for 18 years, and he was gone in a minute," she asked the Israeli army what happened. It said "terrorists" had thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails at troops in the village, and that soldiers had "responded with fire to remove the threat".Hundreds crowded into Hamdan's house for his funeral on Sunday, as his body was carried in for his mother to say father, Ameen Abu Elaya, raging to friends and family, said he refused to show the Israelis his tears."They thought if they killed our son, we would leave," he said. "I will not shout and scream and say 'why has he gone?' I'm not sad that he passed. I encourage young men to do anything they can against the criminal occupier."At the local mosque, there was a hero's welcome for Hamdan's body as it was carried in for the funeral prayer – vast Palestinian flags hung alongside those of Fatah and Hamas from the rooves and windows; crowds lining the path of the the language of this conflict, each birth and each burial only strengthens the ties to the reporting by Morgan Gisholt Minard
The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
Letter urges Prime Minister to recall Parliament over Gaza emergency
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to recall Parliament to 'impose immediate sanctions' on Israel in a joint letter signed by politicians in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The letter urges the Prime Minister to 'act now' to exert pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza. It has been signed by Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, SDLP leader Claire Hanna, the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and the convener of the party's Holyrood group Stuart McMillan. Other co-signatories include co-leader Lorna Slater of Scottish Greens, Alistair Carmichael from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Plaid Cymru's Westminster group leader Liz Saville Roberts. The letter says: 'The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is both man-made and avoidable. 'It is characterised not only by relentless bombardment and destruction, but by the deliberate creation of conditions that are starving a civilian population. 'The blocking of food, water, and medical supplies has precipitated what UN agencies and humanitarian experts describe as a man-made famine; one that is rapidly claiming lives and inflicting irreparable harm on an already traumatised population.' It calls upon Sir Keir to recall Parliament and impose sanctions on Israel and to 'support a ceasefire and meaningful diplomatic intervention to protect civilians and secure a just, lasting peace'. It also calls for an immediate end to all arms sales to Israel, support for an 'independent, international investigations into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide in Gaza'. The letter also says the UK should use its 'diplomatic influence to press for the unimpeded delivery of food, water, medicine, and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza'. It adds: 'The UK's moral standing and commitment to human rights will be measured by its response to this crisis. 'We urge you to act decisively by standing against the man-made famine, the mass killing of children, and the broader assault on civilian life. 'History will remember whether we chose to remain silent or to stand on the side of humanity.' SDLP leader Ms Hanna said 'ever growing numbers of people across these islands have shown their horror and anguish' at events in Gaza. She added: 'The situation is deteriorating, with more people dying every day. 'The people of Gaza don't have the luxury of waiting any longer for the UK Government to act. 'Today the SDLP is leading parties in giving voice to the despair and anger at the UK Government's failure to stand up to Netanyahu. 'Our voice may be the only tool we have, but together it is a powerful one – reflecting the depth of feeling of our constituents and highlighting the failure of the Prime Minister and his government to do all in their power to protect the people of Gaza.' The Prime Minister has previously said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
Western Telegraph
an hour ago
- Western Telegraph
Letter urges Prime Minister to recall Parliament over Gaza emergency
The letter urges the Prime Minister to 'act now' to exert pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill is among those who have signed the letter (Liam McBurney/PA) It has been signed by Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, SDLP leader Claire Hanna, the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and the convener of the party's Holyrood group Stuart McMillan. Other co-signatories include co-leader Lorna Slater of Scottish Greens, Alistair Carmichael from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Plaid Cymru's Westminster group leader Liz Saville Roberts. The letter says: 'The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is both man-made and avoidable. 'It is characterised not only by relentless bombardment and destruction, but by the deliberate creation of conditions that are starving a civilian population. 'The blocking of food, water, and medical supplies has precipitated what UN agencies and humanitarian experts describe as a man-made famine; one that is rapidly claiming lives and inflicting irreparable harm on an already traumatised population.' It calls upon Sir Keir to recall Parliament and impose sanctions on Israel and to 'support a ceasefire and meaningful diplomatic intervention to protect civilians and secure a just, lasting peace'. It also calls for an immediate end to all arms sales to Israel, support for an 'independent, international investigations into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide in Gaza'. The letter also says the UK should use its 'diplomatic influence to press for the unimpeded delivery of food, water, medicine, and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza'. It adds: 'The UK's moral standing and commitment to human rights will be measured by its response to this crisis. 'We urge you to act decisively by standing against the man-made famine, the mass killing of children, and the broader assault on civilian life. 'History will remember whether we chose to remain silent or to stand on the side of humanity.' Claire Hanna said the situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly (Mark Marlow/PA) SDLP leader Ms Hanna said 'ever growing numbers of people across these islands have shown their horror and anguish' at events in Gaza. She added: 'The situation is deteriorating, with more people dying every day. 'The people of Gaza don't have the luxury of waiting any longer for the UK Government to act. 'Today the SDLP is leading parties in giving voice to the despair and anger at the UK Government's failure to stand up to Netanyahu. 'Our voice may be the only tool we have, but together it is a powerful one – reflecting the depth of feeling of our constituents and highlighting the failure of the Prime Minister and his government to do all in their power to protect the people of Gaza.' The Prime Minister has previously said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
