Nationwide day of protest begins in Israel

A central highway in the area of the coastal city of Tel Aviv was blocked and demonstrators burned tires on a road north of Tel Aviv, as reported by a photo reporter for the German Press Agency (dpa).

The forum of hostage relatives had called for various protest actions under the slogan "Israel stands together". They accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political reasons. His far-right coalition partners, on whom his political survival depends, are against a ceasefire.

A large rally is planned for the evening in "Hostages Square" in the center of Tel Aviv. Just over a week ago, hundreds of thousands of Israelis expressed their solidarity with the hostages at a large demonstration. A total of 50 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Just over a week ago, the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas declared that it had agreed to a new proposal for a ceasefire from the mediating states Egypt and Qatar. According to media reports, this is an adapted version of a previously negotiated proposal by US special envoy Steve Witkoff. This provides for a 60-day ceasefire, during which ten live hostages would initially be released in return for Palestinian prisoners.