{"id":153429,"date":"2025-08-17T15:36:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T15:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/153429\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T15:36:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T15:36:13","slug":"israel-protesters-go-on-strike-demanding-ceasefire-and-release-of-gaza-hostages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/153429\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel: Protesters go on strike demanding ceasefire and release of Gaza hostages"},"content":{"rendered":"

JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as thousands of protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza<\/a> aimed to shut down the country with a one-day strike that blocked roads and closed businesses.<\/p>\n

Groups representing families of hostages organized the demonstrations as frustration grows in Israel over plans for a new military offensive<\/a> in some of Gaza\u2019s most populated areas, which many fear could further endanger the remaining hostages. Fifty hostages remain, and 20 of them are believed to still be alive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t win a war over the bodies of hostages,\u201d protesters chanted in one of the largest and fiercest protests in 22 months of war. Even some former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs<\/a> now call for a deal to end the fighting.<\/p>\n

Protesters gathered at dozens of places including outside politicians\u2019 homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in solidarity. Police said they arrested 38 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way to bring (hostages) back is through a deal, all at once, without games,\u201d former hostage Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv. Her boyfriend Ariel Cunio is still being held by Hamas.<\/p>\n

One protester carried a photo of an emaciated Palestinian child from Gaza. Such images were once rare at Israeli demonstrations but now appear more often as outrage grows over conditions there<\/a> for civilians after more than 250 malnutrition-related deaths.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu opposes any deal that leaves Hamas in power<\/p>\n

An end to the conflict does not seem near. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing competing pressures including the potential for mutiny<\/a> within his coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas\u2019 position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated,\u201d Netanyahu said, referencing the Hamas-led attack in 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and sparked the war.<\/p>\n

The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages earlier this year, far-right members of his cabinet threatened to topple<\/a> Netanyahu\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Demonstrators<\/p>\n

Demonstrators block a road during a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and calling for the Israeli government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City and other areas in the Gaza Strip, near Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ohad Zwigenberg)<\/p>\n

Demonstrators block a road during a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and calling for the Israeli government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City and other areas in the Gaza Strip, near Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ohad Zwigenberg)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called the demonstrations \u201ca bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas\u2019 hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new offensive would require the call-up of thousands of reservists, another concern for many Israelis.<\/p>\n

Another 17 aid-seekers killed in Gaza<\/p>\n

Hospitals and witnesses in Gaza said Israeli forces killed at least 17 aid-seekers on Sunday, including nine awaiting U.N. aid trucks close to the Morag corridor.<\/p>\n

Hamza Asfour said he was just north of the corridor awaiting a convoy when Israeli snipers fired, first to disperse the crowds, then from tanks hundreds of meters (yards) away. He saw two people with gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s either to take this risk or wait and see my family die of starvation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported distribution points that have become the main source of aid since they opened in May, said there was no gunfire \u201cat or near\u201d its sites, which are located in military-controlled areas.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military did not immediately respond to questions.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s air and ground war has displaced most of Gaza\u2019s population and killed more than 61,900 people, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children.<\/p>\n

Two children and five adults died of malnutrition-related causes Sunday, according to the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war, the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean)<\/p>\n

People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war, the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition<\/a> in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Most aid has been blocked from entering Gaza since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after ending a ceasefire<\/a>. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organizations say the flow is far below what is needed.<\/p>\n

Fears of the coming military offensive<\/p>\n

It is not clear when Israel\u2019s military will begin the new offensive in the crowded Gaza City, Muwasi and what Netanyahu has called the \u201ccentral camps\u201d of Gaza.<\/p>\n

The military body that coordinates its humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, this weekend noted plans to forcibly evacuate people from combat zones to southern Gaza \u201cfor their protection.\u201d Designated \u201csafe zones,\u201d however, also have been bombed during the war.<\/p>\n

War-weary Palestinians on Sunday insisted that they won\u2019t leave, arguing that there is \u201cno safe place\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no humanitarian zones at all,\u201d said Raghda Abu Dhaher, who said she has been displaced 10 times during the war and now shelters in a school in western Gaza City.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Ahmed also insisted that he won\u2019t move south. \u201cHere is bombing and there is bombing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Airstrike on power plant in Yemen<\/p>\n

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen\u2019s capital Sunday, escalating strikes on the Iran-backed Houthi<\/a> rebels, who since the war in Gaza began have fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah Television said the strikes targeted a power plant in the southern district of Sanhan, sparking a fire and knocking it out of service. Israel\u2019s military said the strikes were launched in response to missiles and drones aimed at Israel.<\/p>\n

While some projectiles have breached its missile defenses \u2014 notably during its 12-day war<\/a> with Iran in June \u2014 Israel has intercepted the vast majority of missiles launched from Yemen. Its military later Sunday said it had intercepted another.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel and Magdy from Cairo. Sam Mednick contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s war coverage at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/israel-hamas-war<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 Israeli police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests on Sunday as…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":153430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[97,89786,372,26715,4526,57,4527,89785,15127,99,3462,373,3097,3463,8132,89784,50,402,365,1206,96,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-153429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-2024-2025-mideast-wars","9":"tag-ariel-cunio","10":"tag-benjamin-netanyahu","11":"tag-bezalel-smotrich","12":"tag-gaza-strip","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-hamas","15":"tag-hamza-asfour","16":"tag-hostage-situations","17":"tag-israel","18":"tag-israel-government","19":"tag-israel-hamas-war","20":"tag-middle-east","21":"tag-mideast-wars","22":"tag-military-and-defense","23":"tag-mohamed-ahmed","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-protests-and-demonstrations","26":"tag-religion","27":"tag-united-nations","28":"tag-war-and-unrest","29":"tag-world","30":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115044849062690392","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}