Israeli protesters block highways and demand ceasefire to release hostages

TEL AVIV, Israel — Nine months after the war in Gaza began, Israeli protesters blocked highways across the country on Sunday, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urging a ceasefire to release scores of hostages held by Hamas.

The demonstrations come as long-running efforts to negotiate a ceasefire gained momentum last week after Hamas dropped a key demand that Israel commit to ending the war.

The terror group is still seeking a permanent ceasefire, while Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed.

Sunday’s “day of disruption” began at 6:29 a.m., the same time Hamas terrorists fired the first rockets at Israel in the October 7 attack that sparked the war.

Protesters blocked main roads and demonstrated in front of the homes of government ministers.

Near the border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli demonstrators released 1,500 black and yellow balloons to commemorate their killed and kidnapped fellow citizens.

Hannah Golan said she had come to protest against our government’s “devastating neglect of our communities.” She added: “It has been nine months since that dark day and still no one in our government is taking responsibility.”

In the surprise attack, Palestinian terrorists killed around 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

According to the territory’s Health Ministry, more than 38,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, although the count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

About 120 hostages are still being held after more than 100 hostages were released under a ceasefire agreement in November.

Israel has already concluded that more than 40 of the remaining hostages are dead and there are fears that their number will rise as the war continues.

The United States has rallied the world behind a proposal for a gradual ceasefire in which Hamas would release remaining prisoners in return for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

But Hamas is demanding guarantees from the mediators that the war will end, while Israel wants the freedom to resume fighting if talks on the release of the last hostages drag on.

Netanyahu also said Israel remains determined to destroy Hamas’ military and political power and will resume the war after a pause to release the hostages.

Israel continues to fight enclaves of Palestinian militants throughout the Gaza Strip after months of heavy bombing and ground operations devastated the territory’s main towns and displaced most of its 2.3 million residents, often multiple times.

On Sunday, Israel issued new evacuation orders for parts of Gaza City, which was heavily bombed and largely evacuated at the start of the war.

Bodies found with hands tied

Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis said the bodies of three Palestinians had been recovered from the area of ​​the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel.

A hospital statement said they were handcuffed, and an Associated Press reporter saw one of the bodies with her hands bound.

Abdel-Hadi Ghabaeen, the uncle of one of the deceased, said they had been working to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial shipments through the border crossing.

He said he saw soldiers arresting them on Saturday. The bodies showed signs of beatings, and one even had a broken leg.

The Israeli military said it was investigating the reports.

Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested since the war began. Many of those who have since been released, as well as some Israelis who worked in the detention centers, report that the prisoners were tortured and held in harsh conditions.

The Israeli authorities deny having mistreated prisoners.

At least 13 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes overnight and into Sunday, including the Secretary of State for Labor of the largely shattered Hamas government.

According to the Civil Defense, a Hamas government aid organization, Ihab al-Ghussein was among four people killed in an attack on a school converted into an emergency shelter in Gaza City.

Hamas mourned his loss in a statement, saying an attack early in the war destroyed his home and killed his wife and daughter.

The Israeli military said it had attacked a militant complex “near a school building” as well as a nearby Hamas weapons factory in Gaza City after taking measures to reduce harm to civilians.

Israel exchanges fire with Hezbollah

The Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah said early Sunday that it had fired dozens of missiles toward northern Israel, targeting areas more than 20 miles from the border, a greater distance than most launches.

A 28-year-old man was seriously injured, the Israeli rescue service reported.

In another attack near the border, three people were injured, one seriously, according to the Galilee Medical Center.

Israeli media reported that the seriously injured man was a US citizen. There was no immediate confirmation from the army.

After the war in the Gaza Strip broke out, Hezbollah began rocket and mortar attacks.

The scale and severity of the attacks and Israeli counterattacks have increased in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-scale war with catastrophic consequences for people on both sides of the border.

Mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar have stepped up their efforts over the past week to negotiate an agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Hezbollah has said it will stop its attacks if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas’ compromise on Saturday could lead to the first pause in fighting since November and pave the way for further talks, although all sides still warned that an agreement was not yet guaranteed.

Washington’s phased deal would begin with a “complete and comprehensive” six-week ceasefire during which elderly, sick and female hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

During these 42 days, Israeli forces would withdraw from the densely populated areas of Gaza and allow displaced people to return to their homes in northern Gaza.

War-weary Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were pessimistic after previous instances had suggested that both sides were close to reaching an agreement.

“We have lived through nine months of suffering,” said Heba Radi, a mother of six who lives in a tent in the central town of Deir al-Balah, where she has sought refuge since fleeing her home in Gaza City. “The ceasefire has become a distant dream.”