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Israelis Stage Nationwide Protests to Demand End to Gaza War and Release of Hostages
Demonstrators block Israel’s main highway connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, after families of hostages have called for a nationwide strike to demand the return of all hostages and an end to the war in Gaza, in Latrun Israel August 17,2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Thousands of Israelis took part in a nationwide strike on Sunday in support of families of hostages held in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war and release the remaining captives.
Demonstrators waved Israeli flags and carried photos of hostages as whistles, horns, and drums echoed at rallies across the country, while some protesters blocked streets and highways, including the main route between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
“Today, everything stops to remember the highest value: the sanctity of life,” Anat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, told reporters at a public square in Tel Aviv.
Among those who met with families of hostages in Tel Aviv was Israeli Hollywood actress Gal Gadot, known for her role as Wonder Woman and starring in the Fast & the Furious franchise.
Ahead of Sunday, some businesses and institutions said they would allow staff to join the nationwide strike, which was called by the hostages’ families. While some businesses closed, many also remained open across the country on what is a working day in Israel. Schools are on summer recess and were not affected.
A major rally is scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv in the evening.
Israeli police said that 38 demonstrators had been detained by 2 p.m. (11 a.m. GMT) Some protesters blocking roads scuffled with police, and were carried away by officers.
Demonstrations across the country were briefly halted around 4 p.m. local time when air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere, warning of an incoming missile fired from Yemen. The missile was intercepted without incident.
MILITARY CAMPAIGN
On Sunday, Netanyahu told the cabinet: “Those who call today for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’ position and delaying the release of our hostages. They are also ensuring that the horrors of October 7 will repeat themselves over and over again.”
The prime minister, who leads the country’s most right-wing government in history, said his government was determined to implement a decision for the military to seize Gaza City, one of the last major areas of the enclave it does not already control.
That decision is widely unpopular among Israelis and many of the hostages’ families, who fear an expanded military campaign in Gaza could risk the lives of their loved ones still held captive. There are 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza, of which Israeli officials believe around 20 are still alive.
“There is no time – not for the lives wasting away in hell, nor for the fallen who may vanish in the ruins of Gaza,” said the Hostages Families Forum, which represents many families of captives held in Gaza, on Sunday.
After nearly two years of war in Gaza, ignited by the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic talks.
Negotiations towards a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has said it would only free the remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war, while Netanyahu has vowed that Hamas cannot stay in power.
The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would soon seize Gaza City.
On Sunday, Hamas called the plan criminal, saying it would force the displacement of hundreds of thousands from Gaza City.
Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas’ attack on Israel. Over 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who attended a rally in Tel Aviv, expressed support for the protesters.
“The only thing that strengthens the country is the wonderful spirit of the people who are going out from home today for Israeli solidarity,” he wrote on X.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.