Israelis rally for end to Gaza war and release of captives
Demonstrators blocked several roads in Tel Aviv, including the highway connecting the city with Jerusalem. Activists set tyres on fire and caused traffic jams, while protest organisers and the main campaign group representing the families of captives called for a general strike on Sunday.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement that protesters would "shut down the country today [Sunday] with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war".
Forty-nine Israeli captives remain in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Their faces were displayed across a large banner unfurled in Tel Aviv's so-called "Hostage Square", a focal point for protests.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Footage from AFP also showed a protest in Beeri, a kibbutz near Gaza that came under fire during the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel in October 2023, which led to the capture of hundreds of Israelis.
The demonstrations came days after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to fully occupy Gaza City.
Israeli government ministers condemned the demonstrations, saying they played into the hands of Hamas.
Demonstrators raise flags during an anti-government protest demanding a deal to release Israelis held in Gaza by Hamas in Tel Aviv, on 17 August 2025 (AFP)
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that public pressure to secure a ceasefire agreement effectively "buries the hostages in tunnels and seeks to push the State of Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardise its security and future".
Culture Minister Miki Zohar described the blocking of roads and other forms of direct action as a "reward to the enemy".
The protests came as Israeli forces continue to pound the Gaza Strip.
At least seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire in Gaza in the last few hours.
Four civilians were killed and others wounded when an Israeli air strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Elsewhere in the south, three Palestinians waiting to collect aid were killed and others wounded by Israeli gunfire in Rafah.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 61,897 people in Gaza, most of them women and children. A further 155,660 have been wounded.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
8 minutes ago
- The National
UK targets family fortune of Iranian leader's ally with sanctions
Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a close aide to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was hit with UK sanctions on Thursday. The British government sanctioned Mr Shamkhani, along with holding companies Admiral Shipping Group and Milavous Group, plus hedge fund Ocean Leonid Investments. He is the son of Ali Shamkhani, a former senior security official who was injured in the Israeli bombing campaign on Iran in June. '[Hossein] Shamkhani has facilitated and provided support to hostile activity by the government of Iran, namely activity which is intended to cause the destabilisation of the United Kingdom or any other country including Israel and Ukraine,' an official statement on Thursday said. The move follows recent enforcement actions by the US and the European Union to target the same network, which the Trump administration called the biggest sanctions escalation against Tehran in nearly a decade. The Shamkhani network is believed to have emerged as a major player in the export of Russian and Iranian oil, and established a hedge fund to help manage the proceeds. The UK Financial Conduct Authority had licensed Ocean Leonid activities in the country until November. Imposing its own sanctions this year, the US Treasury said: "The Shamkhani family further exploits their ill-gotten wealth to obtain access to benefits unavailable to everyday Iranians, including owning exclusive properties around the world and obtaining foreign passports in exchange for substantial financial investments."
The National
8 minutes ago
- The National
How Palestine Action prepares activists for protests against Gaza war
It was only when they were gathered at a safe house that the two Palestine Action activists learnt for the first time what they had been asked to do the following morning. Mary Ensell, 45, and Harry Wade, 26, chained themselves to a van that had been crashed into the entrance of a Teledyne factory at 5am, in protest against the company supplying products being used in the war in Gaza. Details of their protest have been revealed in court documents, which show the planning that goes into Palestine Action's sabotage attacks and the extent to which "foot soldiers" are kept in the dark about what they are to do until the last minute. The evidence also shows how the group tried to intimidate Teledyne's lawyers. Ensell and Wade both contacted the group after becoming concerned about the devastation in Gaza. They volunteered to take part in direct action against companies in the UK that were supplying products for the Israeli military. Since their protest early this year, Palestine Action has been designated as a terrorist organisation after activists broke into a military base and damaged British aircraft they claimed were used to assist Israel's war effort. In response to continued protests by Palestine Action, Teledyne obtained a High Court injunction in January that forbids protesters from entering six of the company's sites in Britain. But Ensell and Wade took part in a demonstration at the Shipley site on January 28, four days after the injunction was granted. They have now admitted breaching the injunction, although a judge has spared them from a jail sentence for contempt of court. In her ruling, judge Mary Stacey outlined how the pair volunteered to become activists for the group after seeing news and social media reports about the Gaza war. After making contact with the group, they were given an 'onboarding session' and offered to take part in 'medium-level action' for which they would not be sent to prison. "A few months later and after several further conversations with representatives from Palestine Action, they were each told, separately, that they had been approved to be involved in a medium-level action, coming up shortly," the judge said. The pair "were not told any details or what or where it might be" and "they had not been involved in any of the planning and organisation", she added. The judge described the pair as 'foot soldiers' who met for the first time at a 'safe house' the night before the protest, to undergo a briefing at which they were told where the action would take place. They were both told to leave their mobile phones at home. 'The action had been planned, designed and organised by others beforehand and neither of them were privy to any information other than about the limited role each had agreed to perform the next day,' the judge said. On the day of their action, the pair travelled in a car behind the van driven by fellow activists. The van then drove at speed towards two bollards, causing about £3,500 ($4,710) of damage. Ensell and Wade then got out of the car and locked themselves to the van and sat in the rain in a bid to prevent workers from entering the site. A couple of hours later, a security guard emerged and told them about the injunction, which they ignored. About 40 police officers and ambulance staff arrived at the scene over the course of the day in an effort to cut them free from the van, but the vehicle had been reinforced with concrete from the inside, making such efforts impossible. The activists released themselves at 12.30pm. In a submission to the court, Teledyne said the offices of the law firm that worked on the injunction has been the target of supporters of Palestine Action. Four activists smashed a window at Keystone Law's office early on March 10 and sprayed red paint inside. The words "Drop Teledyne" were written on the pavement outside. Palestine Action posters bearing a picture of the lawyer handling the case were stuck to the wall of a coffee shop. The posters accused him of being complicit in war crimes and genocide. Justice Stacey said she believed Ensell and Ward were not aware of the existence of an injunction. But continuing their protest after being told of the order justified a jail term of 28 days, she added. The judge reduced this to 21 days and suspended the sentence for a year, meaning they will go to prison if they undertake any further protest action during that time. Teledyne said in the court submission that it makes products for a 'wide range of industrial markets, including defence and aerospace', some of which have 'military end-uses'. Of those, 'some products are exported under licence to Israel'. The company has been approached for comment. Supporters of Palestine Action recently staged a protest in central London to openly defy the law and run the risk of arrest. About half of the 522 detained were over the age of 60, police said. Palestine Action has been allowed to legally challenge the decision to designate it as a terrorist group and a decision on the issue is due in November.
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Palestinians from Gaza 'enduring hell' in Israeli custody, prisoner monitors say
Palestinians seized from Gaza and placed in Israeli detention are enduring "the worst levels of torture and abuse" compared with other detainees, two prisoner rights monitors have said. The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees' Affairs have published a report collecting testimonies of lawyers of prisoners that showcase ongoing "severe crimes". Titled "Enduring Hell: Gaza Detainees Face Severe Israeli Torture and Terror Behind Bars", the report is based on accounts from Ramla prison and the Sde Teiman military camp. The testimonies from Ramla come specifically from the underground Rakevet section, where detainees are reportedly held in total isolation and subjected to psychological torture. According to the monitors, several detainees appeared at meetings with their lawyers "weeping and terrorised". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In one case, a prisoner appeared severely beaten and unable to express what happened to him, communicating only with his eyes. "His case is not isolated; all detainees showed severe psychological distress, with fear dominating the entire lawyers' visit," the rights groups said. The Commission of Detainees and PPS note that all prisoners were subjected to beatings and threats before seeing their lawyers, with prison guards often forcing them to lie and say they were being kept in "excellent" conditions. Meanwhile, lawyers are not allowed to share any information with the detainees regarding their relatives. Finger-breaking, isolation and stress positions The latest testimonies reveal Palestinians from Gaza are enduring torture methods including finger-breaking, isolation, humiliation and being placed in stress positions for long periods. "The interrogation period stands out as one of the clearest reflections of the level of torture and grave violations inflicted by interrogators against detainees abducted from occupied Gaza," the report said. 'I was beaten daily for 30 days straight. I currently suffer from torn chest muscles' – Prisoner 'AY' According to the monitors, the detainees are only allowed in the yard for 20 minutes every other day, and denied sunlight for the rest of the time. One prisoner, identified as AY, said he was held in a cell for a month "without knowing day from night". "They would strap me to a chair and then throw me to the ground while my hands and feet were bound. I was beaten daily for 30 days straight. I currently suffer from torn chest muscles and severe pain due to prolonged shackling of my arms behind my back," he is quoted as saying. Another detainee, identified as YD, described violent interrogation methods, where he was placed in a "disco" room - where detainees are psychologically abused through blaring music - and forced into stress positions. "The beating was so violent that my handcuffs came off twice... Now I suffer from rib fractures and I can't sleep. The torture also caused a tear in my left ear, vision impairment, and kidney pain," he said. Some of the positional torture (stress positions) used against Palestinian detainees at Israeli interrogation centers#StopTortrue#TortureIsAWarCrime — Addameer – الضمير (@Addameer) December 23, 2019 Detainee AB recalled similar abuse, noting that during his interrogation he was placed in the "banana" stress position and beaten. "The interrogators would grab my testicles and beat me on them, trying to pressure me into confessing," AB added. Several former detainees have told the United Nations and the media that they were routinely beaten on their genitals or other sensitive parts of their body. After AB's transfer to Ramla prison, guards broke his fingers. 'Famine' in Israeli detention The monitors said all the testimonies confirmed that prisoners endured starvation, with one describing it as a "famine". Food portions are extremely small and often inedible, with the amount of food given to several prisoners sharing a cell less than a meal for one person. "Most are experiencing severe weight loss, emaciation, and extreme exhaustion, along with worsening illnesses and health conditions," the report said. Additionally, diseases and infections continue to torment prisoners, with scabies becoming one of the most pressing health issues among detainees. The two monitors stressed that the prison system's deprivation of basic hygiene and medical care is exacerbating the spread of diseases.
