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Israeli opposition, pro-democracy protesters press unity in face of attacks from Hamas
(JTA) — Hours after Saturday’s deadly surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, the Israeli protest group Achim le’Neshek (Brothers and Sisters in Arms) was helping arrange transportation for army reservists being called to the front.
“Brothers and Sisters in Arms call on everyone who is required to stand up for the defense of Israel without hesitation and immediately,” the group tweeted early Saturday. “Right now the most important thing is the safety of the country’s citizens.”
It was an abrupt turnabout by a group of military veterans and reservists who previously threatened to refuse service if the government carried out its judicial reform plans, but a sign of how what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a “war” with Hamas has mobilized a polarized Israeli public.
Opposition party heads in Israel’s Knesset issued a statement backing the Israel Defense Forces. The heads of the Yesh Atid, National Unity, Yisrael Beitenu and Labor parties wrote that they “are united in the face of terrorism,” and that “in days like these there is no opposition and no coalition in Israel.”
Organizers of the huge anti-government, pro-democracy protests that have convulsed the country for much of the year suspended the weekly demonstrations for the first time.
“We stand with the residents of Israel and give full support to the IDF and the security forces,” the protest organizers said in a statement, the Times of Israel reported. “We call on all those who are needed to report [for duty] and play their part to safeguard the security and health of the residents of Israel.”
Brothers and Sisters in Arms set up an online signup sheet for those needing transportation to army bases, hospitals and “family.”
The coordinated attack by Hamas came at a low point in the morale of the country. Last month, more than 180 former military, intelligence and police officals warned that the far-right government’s plan to reshape the country’s judiciary threatened the country’s resilience. “We’ve been through wars, through military operations and all of a sudden you realize that the greatest threat to the state of Israel is internal,” Tamir Pardo, a former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and an organizer of the protest letter, told the Associated Press.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has called for a compromise on the judiciary overhaul, also called for solidarity.
“I call on everyone to obey the directives of the Home Front Command, to show mutual support and calmness,” he wrote on X. “We can defeat all those who wish us harm!”
“I call on everyone to obey the directives of the Home Front Command, to show mutual support and calmness,” he wrote on X. “We can defeat all those who wish us harm!”
Hints of future divisions were already being seen in early reactions to the deadly attacks, with commenters in Israel questioning the military’s preparedness, the failure of Israeli intelligence to anticipate the attack and provocations by Jewish religious extremists at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. But as rockets continued to rain down on Israel’s south and the border with Gaza remained breached, and Hamas reporting having taken Israelis prisoner, protesters, opposition leaders and those in power presented a united front.
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The post Israeli opposition, pro-democracy protesters press unity in face of attacks from Hamas appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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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.