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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tens of thousands of Israelis protest for end to Gaza war
Clutching pictures of hostages, waving yellow flags, banging on snare drums and shouting chants to bring captive Israelis home, tens of thousands took to Tel Aviv's streets Sunday to call for an end to the war in Gaza. "We're here to make it very clear to the Israeli government that this is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages that are being held in the Hamas tunnels for almost 700 days," Ofir Penso, a 50-year-old Arabic teacher, told AFP. Demonstrations have been held regularly through most of the 22 months of war in the wake of the Hamas attacks in 2023, but Sunday's protests appeared to be one of the largest yet. The renewed energy of the movement came with the government deciding just over a week ago to seize Gaza City and nearby camps in a new offensive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow to conquer the most populated swathes of the Gaza Strip has triggered an international backlash while aid agencies and UN experts have warned of unfolding famine in the territory. Recent video footage released by Palestinian militants showed hostages heavily emaciated and pale -- spurring fears that the captives' health is more fragile than ever. Many in the crowd wore makeshift patches on their shirts made with pieces of tape with the number 681 -- the number of days the hostages have been held captive in Gaza -- scrawled in marker pen. Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 27 the Israeli military has said are dead. - 'Enough is enough' - Snaking along downtown streets, shadowed by glass towers, the crowd converged on Tel Aviv's Hostage Square -- the focal point of movement. "The Israeli government has never offered a genuine initiative for a comprehensive agreement and an end to the war," Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is being held captive in Gaza, told the crowd. "We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war. We demand what is rightfully ours -– our children." The war has also touched on other frustrations for many who took to the streets. "The whole country is fighting with each other, our image around the world has completely changed, worse than it ever was, and enough is enough," Nick, a 31-year-old tech worker, told AFP, asking not to use his last name. Others worried about the fate of their own children enlisted in the Israeli military who had been sent to Gaza and feared that they might soon be recalled to fight. "We are hoping and praying that our government will hear us and listen to us," said Ella Kaufman from Kadima Zoran, who has two sons serving as officers in the Israeli army. "I'm also a concerned mother." While thousands took to the streets, there were others in Tel Aviv who hoped for an end to the war but in different circumstances. "No, I won't be protesting against Bibi, because I think that he has to finish the work, he has to finish the war," said Patrick Menache, a 69-year-old real estate investor in Tel Aviv, using a common nickname for Netanyahu. Nevertheless, he admitted the war had taken a toll. "Everybody is tired, the hostages are tired, the families are tired, the Palestinians are tired, everybody is tired." ds/dcp/dv
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Israel's military chief says expansion of Gaza offensive imminent
Israel is moving closer to intensifying its war against Hamas in Gaza City, military chief Eyal Zamir said during a visit to troops in the Gaza Strip. The plan for an expanded offensive, which was approved Israel's Security Cabinet earlier this month, foresees the capture of Gaza City and central refugee camps in order to dismantle remaining Hamas strongholds in the war-shattered Palestinian territory. The aim is to possibly take control of the entire Gaza Strip, and could require relocating roughly 1 million Palestinians currently in Gaza City to other parts of the territory. "Soon we will move on to the next phase of Operation Gideon's Chariots, in which we will continue to enhance the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City until its decisive defeat," the chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said, using Israel's codename for a ground offensive launched in early May. "The IDF will deploy all its capabilities, on land, in the air, and at sea, in order to strike Hamas decisively," Zamir said in an IDF post on Telegram. Zamir, who the IDF said made the comments during a field tour on Sunday in Gaza, said the military had already achieved many of its objectives in earlier operations: "Hamas no longer possesses the same capabilities it had before the operation; we dealt a severe blow." He added that the military now "bears the moral duty to bring the hostages home, both alive and fallen." During the Islamist Hamas-led massacres on October 7, 2023, militants seized some 250 hostages. Of the roughly 50 hostages still in Gaza, about 20 are believed to be alive. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Top Trump envoy says Putin agreed to ‘game-changing' security protections for Ukraine at Alaska summit with U.S. president
Donald Trump's top Middle East envoy said that a trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. was likely to occur in the days ahead but did not provide specifics regarding the deal reached between the president and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. However U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff revealed that Putin agreed to allow the U.S. and its European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee at his meeting with Trump. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato," Witkoff told CNN. He added that it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called them 'game-changing.' But the envoy wouldn't specify whether the security guarantee could lead to what Trump and his followers have long opposed — a promise to directly engage U.S. troops in defense of Ukraine should Russia continue crossing Trump's red lines. Trump met with Putin for nearly three hours Friday at a U.S. military base in Anchorage. In their first meeting in six years the two leaders discussed the war in Ukraine. Trump has pushed for peace in the region but no ceasefire deal came out of the talks. Also during the Sunday CNN interview, Witkoff declined to say whether a Russian demand for Ukraine to cede the entire occupied Donbas region was being considered by the U.S. 'There is an important discussion to be had with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. And that discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday, when President Zelensky arrives with his delegation,' he said. 'We made so much progress at this meeting with regard to all the other ingredients necessary for a peace deal that President Trump pivoted to that place,' he continued. 'We are intent on trying to hammer out a peace deal that ends the fighting permanently very, very quickly, quicker than a ceasefire.' All eyes are now on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky's crucial meeting with Trump at the White House Monday. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will join Zelensky, and other European leaders at the talks. Finnish president Alexander Stubb, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron are among those who will be on hand to prevent any flare-ups between the Ukrainian president and Trump. Coverage of that meeting has largely centered around the theme of damage control, with European leaders insistent on having a seat at the table for future negotiations. At the same time, the Trump administration is signaling that it will not put significant pressure on Russia to force a peace agreement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appearing separately Sunday on ABC, said that further sanctions on Russia were, for the time being, likely off the table. 'The minute you levy additional sanctions, strong, additional sanctions, the talking stops. Talking stops. And at that point, the war just continues,' Rubio said. He and Witkoff were part of th delegation to join Trump in Alaska for the summit. Rubio added that meant 'more people dead. More people killed. More people maimed. More families destroyed.' Many Republicans have come out publicly to state that Trump was wrong about his assumption in February that Putin 'wants peace' in Ukraine. 'I think he's going to be very careful about what he does,' Sen. Mike Rounds said of Trump backing further Russian sanctions in early August. 'But I think he is clearly disappointed in Putin and I think he is now coming around to recognizing that many of us were right.'
