Aug. 17: Terror groups said mulling moving hostages to Gaza City to forestall IDF advance

Police say all Tel Aviv roads are now open; 6 protesters arrested after blocking Ayalon

Police say all roads in Tel Aviv have been reopened to traffic after a massive demonstration in favor of a hostage deal.

Six protesters were arrested after hundreds “disrupted public order,” clashed with cops and blocked the city’s Ayalon Highway, police say in a statement.

Hundreds protest outside Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv, clash with police

Following the mass rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv, hundreds of people move to the nearby headquarters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, where they lit a bonfire and clashed with police.

Police stop the demonstrators from reaching the entrance of the Metzudat Ze’ev building.

Videos posted to social media show officers jostling violently with demonstrators, who are banging drums and chanting slogans against the government.

המשטרה מפעילה כעת כוח פיזי חריג נגד אלפי מפגינים שמנסים להתקדם לעבר מצודת זאב בתל אביב – מטה הליכוד.
במהלך העימותים קוראים המפגינים לעבר השוטרים: ״שוטר, שוטר – על מי אתה שומר?״ ו־״שוטרים של מחבל״ pic.twitter.com/r6G9gtGXJk

— Yanal Jabarin ينال جبارين | ינאל ג׳בארין (@JbareenYanal) August 17, 2025

Poll shows Likud dropping, Gantz unlikely to make it into Knesset after Eisenkot split

MK Gadi Eisenkot holds a press conference after announcing his resignation from the Knesset and departure from the National Unity party, in Tel Aviv on July 1, 2025. (Erik Marmor/ Flash90)

A poll published by Channel 12 shows the Likud dropping slightly and Blue and White – National Union under Benny Gantz failing to cross the electoral threshold, were elections to be held today.

The poll examines the effects of the breakaway of former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot from Gantz and looks at the scenarios should he choose a joint run with other opposition candidates.

According to the poll, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud drops three seats from the previous poll to 24. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett is second with 20 seats, followed by Eisenkot with 12 in the 120-seat Knesset.

The poll gives Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu 11 seats, and Yair Golan’s left-wing The Democrats also 11. The Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas drops to 8, current opposition chief Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid is on 7, while the Ashkenazi Haredi party United Torah Judaism is also on 7.

Far-Right Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzmah Yehudit party would garner 5, as would the two Arab parties Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am. Far-right Religious Zionism under Bezalel Smotrich gets 4 seats, passing the electoral threshold for the first time in several months.

The poll shows Gantz and the Arab party Balad failing to cross the threshold.

The results would give the current opposition a slim 61 seat majority, with the current coalition on 49 and the Arab parties making up the other 10.

The poll finds that should Eisenkot team up with Yesh Atid and lead the list, the joint party would get 17 seats.

If he were to join Bennett as his number two, they would become the largest party with 27 seats.

However, in both scenarios there was no major shift in the balance of power between the opposition and coalition blocs.

The poll conducted among 505 respondents had a margin of error of 4.4%.

Qatar said to have paid senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu aides, total of $10 million over 2 years

Aides Yisrael Einhorn (left) and Jonatan Urich (center) with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019. (Courtesy/ File)

Qatar paid senior Israeli officials, including several top advisers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a total of some $10 million in recent years to boost the image of the Gulf nation, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Citing estimates by law enforcement officials involved in the Qatargate probe, the report says that Perception Media — owned by Yisrael Einhorn, a former campaign adviser to Netanyahu — was paid $45,000 per month over two years, from 2022 until the project was scrapped in late 2024.

Some $18,000 per month out of the payment to Perception went to Netanyahu aide Jonatan Urich, the report says.

Separately from the payments to Perception, $11,000 per month went to another Netanyahu aide, Eli Feldstein.

The Qatargate affair revolves primarily around suspicions that two Netanyahu aides — Urich and Feldstein — committed multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen, all while working for the prime minister.

The investigation continues to expand, however, and the Shin Bet and police are now probing the involvement and business connections of former security officials with Qatar.

Terror groups said mulling moving hostages to Gaza City to forestall IDF advance

Gaza terror groups are considering moving the hostages they hold to Gaza City ahead of the expected Israeli operation to capture the city, the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports.

According to the report, the plan is intended to pressure Israel and prevent the takeover of the city.

The paper adds that discussions of the plan are still “in the study phase” at senior levels inside Gaza and abroad, and no decision has yet been made.

Organizers say nearly 500,000 at Tel Aviv rally, 1 million participated in day’s protests nationwide

People gather at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, during a rally calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza, August 17, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

The Hostage Families Forum says that almost 500,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and the surrounding streets for a mass rally tonight demanding the government reach a deal to free the captives held by terror groups in Gaza.

There is no official police estimate of the size of the crowd in what appears to be one of the largest rallies since the start of the war.

“Almost 500,000 people gathered…to make it clear — the entire people of Israel want the release of all the hostages and end the war,” the forum says in a statement.

The forum also estimates that some 1 million people took part in dozens of protests across the country throughout the day.

“The hostage families wish to tell the people of Israel: ‘Thank you! From here, we will only intensify our efforts. Stay with us until the last hostage is returned!'”

Hostage fathers say government has abandoned their sons for political reasons

Ofir Braslavaski, father of hostage Rom Braslavski, addresses a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, August 17, 2025. (Paulina Patiner/ Hostages Families Forum)

Addressing the crowd of hundreds of thousands at a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, the fathers of two of the hostages accuse the government of abandoning their sons in captivity for political reasons.

Ofir Braslavaski, father of hostage Rom Braslavski, says that he is watching his son waste away and can do nothing about it.

Videos of Braslavski and hostage Evyatar David were released last week in which they appeared emaciated and deeply distressed.

“The entire country saw, all of the leaders saw, but the cabinet chose to expand the war and abandon them,” Braslavski says.

“My Rom has no time, the hostages have no time,” he continues. “To my beloved Rom, stay strong please. We love you.”

Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, echoes the accusations against the government.

“We’re living under a terror organization who refuses to give us back our children for political reasons,” he says of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, alongside Vicki Cohen, addresses a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, August 17, 2025. (Paulina Patiner/ Hostages Families Forum)

“My son, Nimrod, is suffering so that the government can build settlements in Gaza, and I refuse to let him be sacrificed on that altar,” Cohen continues.

“This country won’t return to normality until the hostages are returned in a comprehensive deal and the war ends,” he says. “If the Netanyahu government isn’t willing to do this, then they should quit and allow someone more responsible to do so.”

At mass rally, released hostages plead with Trump to help end war, free captives

Demonstrators gather 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, in Tel Aviv, August 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg)

Released hostages beseech US President Donald Trump to end the war and to bring the hostages home, in a video screened at the rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, organized by hostage family members.

Former hostages, released in the last ceasefire deal, which ended in March, address the president in English, including Naama Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, Doron Steinbrecher, Arbel Yehoud, and Sasha Troufanov.

“Thank you President Trump for bringing us home,” says Levy.

“Every bullet, every strike puts them in danger,” says Troufanov of the danger posed by continued military action to the remaining hostages.

“You have the power to make history, to be the president who made peace, ended the war, ended the suffering, including my little brother,” says former hostage Iair Horn, whose brother Eitan is still held in captivity.

The message is broadcast to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who attend the rally, one of the largest during the war.

‘We demand our children,’ says Einav Zangauker, as new video of hostage son Matan broadcast at rally

Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker seen in an undated video released by his family on August 17, 2025. (Screenshot/ X)

A new video of hostage Matan Zangauker is screened at the rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, organized by hostage family members.

The video of Zangauker is only a few seconds long, in which he asks his mother to “keep making noise” and that he “hopes to see [her] soon.”

Following the screening, Matan’s mother, Einav Zangauker addresses the crowd.

“My Matan, my hero, I’m so proud of you, how you have stayed strong for 681 days. Continue to stay strong,” she says.

“Matan asked for noise, so give him noise!,” Zangauker says to roaring applause.

“My soul hurts and burns from longing for you,” she says.

She adds that the Israeli government has turned this “just war” into an “endless war.”

Einav Zangauker speaks to a mass rally in Tel Aviv calling for a deal to release the hostages on August 17, 2025 ( Paulina Patimer/ Hostages Family Forum)

“We don’t have a worthy government, but we have the most worthy nation in the world,” Zangauker continues.

“We demand a comprehensive deal and end of the war,” she says. “We demand what we deserve — our children! And we will continue to demand it until we get it.”

Netanyahu said to be open to partial hostage deal despite public statements to contrary

A woman reacts during a demonstration organized by families and friends of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since 2023, calling for action to secure their release in Tel Aviv on August 17, 2025. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prepared to consider a partial ceasefire and hostage-release agreement with Hamas, despite his recent statements to the contrary, according to Hebrew media reports, citing a senior Israeli official.

Channel 12 reports that an Israeli official involved in the negotiations recently told relatives of hostages that “Israel is currently prepared to aim only for a comprehensive deal. But there are too many unresolved issues regarding the end of the war. If Hamas agrees to a partial deal under conditions that are acceptable here, don’t be surprised if the red line suddenly shifts.”

Channel 13, quoting a senior member of Israel’s negotiating team, says Netanyahu is willing to discuss “a ‘phased’ deal” with Hamas, while adding that “we have not received a draft from the mediators.” According to the official, both Qatar and Egypt are trying to jump-start the process.

Echoing comments made by Netanyahu and coalition members during today’s nationwide strike calling for the return of the hostages and an end to the war, the official adds that “what’s happening inside the country [the protest] is playing against us. Meetings and talks are taking place in Cairo — it’s not effective negotiation, because Hamas is not in the mindset of effective negotiation.”

The reports come after the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement last night, insisting that Israel is strictly seeking a comprehensive deal in which all hostages are released at once and all of Netanyahu’s conditions are met, following claims that Hamas has renewed its willingness to pursue a phased ceasefire-hostage arrangement.

The primary voice opposing any partial deals within the security cabinet is Netanyahu’s top adviser, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, adds Channel 12.

According to the network, Dermer — who strongly objected to any partial frameworks during the cabinet session earlier this month that approved Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City in October — is taking this stance because he aims to secure stated guarantees from United States President Donald Trump on the terms of an agreement.

The goal, the report says, is to obtain within a month an official announcement from Trump outlining conditions for a comprehensive end to the war — including the release of all hostages. If this strategy succeeds in pressuring Hamas to accept such terms, Channel 12 adds, the need to enter and occupy Gaza City could be averted.

Still, during today’s cabinet meeting, officials indicated that if a partial deal becomes viable — one that would likely bring home about half of the living and deceased hostages — Israel would be willing to agree to a 60-day ceasefire, throughout which it would reassess how to proceed with its military campaign.

IDF intercepts rocket fired from Gaza

A rocket launched from the central Gaza Strip at the Alumim area on the border was intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

Alerts were activated in open areas, and not in any towns.

In West Bank visit, Netanyahu boasts he met promise to thwart Palestinian state

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a visit to the West Bank settlement of Ofra on August 17, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasts that he has kept his promise to forestall the creation of a Palestinian state, during a visit to the West Bank settlement of Ofra on the 50th anniversary of its founding.

He recalls visiting 25 years ago, and saying that “we would do everything to ensure our continued hold on the Land of Israel, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, to thwart the attempts that existed then — and unfortunately still exist — to try to uproot us from here. Thank God, what I promised — we kept.”

There were many pressures on Israel to relent, Netanyahu says: “Pressures from home, pressures from abroad, a series of American presidents who wanted to uproot us and to establish a Palestinian state here. We stood firm together. We upheld the promise of the generations.”

Houthis claim missile attack on Israel, and to have targeted Ben Gurion airport

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for this afternoon’s ballistic missile attack on Israel, claiming to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport.

The IDF said earlier that the missile was intercepted by air defenses. There were no reports of injuries in the attack.

‘Go out and make noise’: Family releases new video of hostage Matan Zangauker from captivity

A Hamas video showing hostage Matan Zangauker in captivity in the Gaza Strip has been released by his family for publication.

The video, which was obtained by the IDF during operations in Gaza, is said to be from several months ago. Some reports suggest the video is from the beginning of the war.

“Go out and make noise just as you know how to do,” Zangauker says in the short clip, addressing his family and friends.

It is unclear how long Zangauker’s family has been in possession of the video, which was never released publicly by Hamas.

During the war, the IDF, upon finding footage or other findings of hostages in Gaza, has presented them to their families, who often release them to the public.

תיעוד של מתן צנגאוקר בשבי חמאס שנחשף הערב לראשונה על ידי משפחתו. התיעוד מהחודשים הראשונים למלחמה. מתן פונה למשפחתו וחבריו אומר ״צאו תעשו רעש כמו שרק אתם יודעים״.

בשבועות האחרונים קיבלו מספר משפחות חטופים תיעודים של החטופים שמתוארכים לתחילת המלחמה, וזאת בשל מציאת שלל של חמאס pic.twitter.com/c0JMXA8qk1

— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) August 17, 2025

At least 220,000 gather in Tel Aviv for main rally for hostages

Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Tel Aviv for a rally demanding a deal to free the hostages, on August 17, 2025 (Screencapture/ Amit Goldstein/ Hostage Families Forum)

Some 220,000 people have gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and the surrounding streets for a rally held by hostage family members, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, citing police estimates.

Some 150,000 people in the square were joined by another 70,000 who marched from Savidor Train Station alongside hostage family members to the rally.

This will be the concluding event to a daylong protest and nationwide strike opposing the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza, rather than negotiate a deal to return the remaining hostages.

Thousands of people have converged on Tel Aviv in convoys from across the country to show solidarity with the hostage families and protest the government.

Serbia revealed as EU country behind $1.64b weapons deal with Israel’s Elbit

This undated handout photo published by Elbit Systems on September 12, 2023, shows the new Skylark 1 eVTOL drone. (Elbit Systems)

Hebrew media report that Serbia is the European country behind a $1.64 billion deal inked with Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems.

Elbit last week announced the deal for the supply of its long-range precision strike artillery-rocket systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, but did not name the customer.

As part of the five-year defense contract, Elbit will supply a suite of AI-powered unmanned aerial combat systems, including personally operated drones for tactical and operational use.

The contract is for the supply of Elbit’s long-range precision artillery rockets, and defense products equipped with its advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, known as ISTAR, as well as communications and signal intelligence systems. It also includes the delivery of advanced electro-optical and night-vision systems.

IDF says it targeted Hamas cell outside Gaza City hospital

Overnight, the IDF says it carried out a drone strike against a cell of Hamas gunmen outside Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.

The armed terror operatives were “identified storing weapons and equipping themselves with weapons at the hospital compound, and using it as a place of shelter,” the military says.

The IDF says Hamas “continues to use hospitals in the Gaza Strip for terror purposes, cynically and brutally exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital.”

During the strike, which was directed by the 990th Artillery Regiment and carried out by an Israeli Air Force drone, the IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm, “including the use of precise munition, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.”

כלי טיס של חיל האוויר בהכוונת חטיבת האש (990) הפועלת תחת אוגדה 99, תקף במהלך הלילה חוליית מחבלים חמושה מארגון הטרור חמאס אשר פעלה בסמוך ומחוץ למתחם בית החולים 'אל מעמדאני', במרחב זיתון שבמרכז רצועת עזה.

המחבלים זוהו מאחסנים ומצטיידים בנשקים במתחם בית החולים והשתמשו בו כמחסה.… pic.twitter.com/mq0S4du2HY

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 17, 2025

Baby returned to parents after being forgotten at bus stop in northern Israel

A couple in northern Israel boarded a bus, but forgot their 1-year-old girl at the bus stop, police say.

A passerby noticed the baby at a bus stop near the village of Meron and called the police.

Police say that while they were searching for the parents, they received a phone call from the father to report that he had forgotten the baby.

Police coordinated between the parents and the Good Samaritan and the child was returned to her mother and father unharmed, police say.

Officers also reported the incident to welfare services.

Large fire breaks out at oil storage facility in Tehran

A large fire breaks out in an oil storage facility in Tehran, local media reports.

Images posted to social media show huge flames and black smoke billowing into the air. The cause of the fire is not immediately clear.

Iran has been hit by a series of fires at oil installations in recent months. Some have blamed them on Israeli sabotage, but others point to Iran’s aging infrastructure, hit by years of harsh sanctions and poor maintenance.

🚨 Massive fire has broken out in southern Tehran.

Mullahs have a lot of gas problems.
pic.twitter.com/dx8AyknpHB

— Savakzadeh (@Savakzadeh) August 17, 2025

Ex-defense minister Gallant visits Hostages Square in show of solidarity

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant (right) meeting with Idit and Kobi Ohel at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on August 17, 2025. (Uriel Even Sapir/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant is at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to support the families of the 50 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity.

Gallant is meeting with different families, including Idit and Kobi Ohel, the parents of hostage Alon Ohel.

Hostages’ families are congregated in the square as part of a daylong protest and nationwide strike opposing the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza rather than negotiate a deal to return the remaining hostages.

The ex-defense minister, who was sacked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November, has accused the premier and his cabinet of delaying a ceasefire deal that would have led to the return of more living hostages.

At the time, Gallant said that he believed he had been fired, among other reasons, due to his insistence on securing the release of the hostages from Gaza.

Iran still jamming local GPS users in wake of Israel war

Cars drive on a motorway in southern Tehran on August 11, 2025. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Unprecedented disruption continues to plague GPS users in Iran since Israel’s surprise attack in mid-June which triggered a 12-day war.

Iran’s communications ministry has said the disruptions were necessary for “security and military purposes,” without giving further explanation.

The streets of Tehran have become a confusing maze for driver Farshad Fooladi amid widespread GPS disruption, still ongoing nearly two months after the end of Iran and Israel’s unprecedented direct conflict.

“For weeks I have been unable to work,” says Fooladi, who uses Iran’s homegrown ride-hailing app Snapp to find customers. “Most of the time was wasted wandering around aimlessly,” the 35-year-old Iranian driver added.

Missiles, drones and rockets often use GPS or other similar technologies, which involve triangulating signals from multiple satellites, to find their targets.

Iran has long employed GPS jamming and spoofing around sensitive military sites but the recent disruptions have been the most sustained and widespread.

It remains unclear how long the measures will last or how much damage they have caused to Iranian businesses.

Charity expresses concern after US halts entry of sick Gazans, says treatments not funded by taxpayer money

Patients wait to leave the Gaza Strip to Egypt, as wounded and sick Palestinians are allowed to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment, in Khan Younis, Saturday Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

An organization that has been bringing severely wounded Gazan children and their family members to the United States for medical treatment says it is “distressed” by the US State Department’s decision to halt visitor visas for Palestinians from the Strip.

The State Department announced the move on Saturday hours after far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer began expressing alarm over the entry of the young Gazans and their families into the US and even spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about her concerns.

Loomer is a close ally of US President Donald Trump who played a key role in the purge of National Security Council staffers earlier this year. She has also called herself a “proud Islamophobe,” and promoted the ideas that the 9/11 terror attacks were an “inside job” and that several school shootings were “false flags.”

In her posts against the entry of Gazan children into the US, she suggested that American tax dollars were paying for the treatment.

HEAL Palestine, the organization behind the evacuations, says that it funds the treatment, not US taxpayer dollars.

“After their treatment is complete, the children and any accompanying family members return to the Middle East. This is a medical treatment program, not a refugee resettlement program,” the group says.

“Our mission gives children a renewed chance at life, whether through life-saving surgery or the ability to walk again. U.S. tax dollars do not fund this treatment.”

“Guided by human and American values, HEAL is committed to offering hope and healing to the few young lives we can reach,” the group adds.

IDF says it’s giving draft dodgers a one-time opportunity to enlist without facing sanctions

Haredi protesters demonstrate against efforts to draft yeshiva students into the IDF at the entrance to Jerusalem on July 23, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

The IDF says it will be giving draft dodgers — many of whom are members of the ultra-Orthodox community — a one-time opportunity to enlist in the military without facing punishment for desertion.

Some 14,600 Israelis — both men and women — are listed by the IDF Personnel Directorate as draft dodgers and deserters, including those who began the process of enlistment but never drafted and those who ignored draft orders for an extended period. All of them potentially face jail time for refusing to enlist, but enforcement has been limited.

For five days starting from tonight until August 21, those Israelis will be given a “final opportunity” to register to be enlisted without facing jail time, as part of an operation in the IDF dubbed “Starting Anew.”

The military says it will send notices to the draft evaders, allowing them to register via a link in an SMS message or by calling the army’s Meitav Unit, which is responsible for drafting soldiers.

Normally, draft evaders would have to serve jail time upon enlisting, as punishment for their desertion. The military says it has identified that many draft evaders have refused to show up over fears of having to face jail time and being given a criminal record.

Therefore, those who register until Thursday and show up for duty will be exempt from having to serve jail time. At the same time, the IDF says it plans to intensify enforcement against those who have not reported for military service.

If a draft dodger enlists as part of the agreement, their punishment for evading duty will be suspended and only activated if the soldier does not abide by the terms of their military service, such as deserting duty.

The IDF warns that it will not allow the program to be abused by deserters to get out of military service and avoid jail time.

Those who report for duty will be required to arrive at induction centers ready to leave immediately for basic training. There will be no delays, and they will be required to serve the full mandatory service time, which is 32 months for most male troops and 24 months for women, with some exceptions depending on the unit and their age.

The IDF does not know how many will show up for duty under this plan.

The army has stated that it is facing a manpower shortage and currently needs some 12,000 new soldiers — 7,000 of them combat soldiers.

Herzog meets family of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi

President Isaac Herzog meets with the family of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi in Jerusalem on August 17, 2025 (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog meets with the relatives of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi, during the family’s first visit to Israel, according to a statement from his office.

The meeting comes after Herzog’s stop at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv this morning during a nationwide strike organized by the families of hostages held by Gaza terror groups. The Joshi family joined the strike, which calls for the release of hostages and an end to the war.

“We are screaming for Bipin’s return. His whereabouts are unclear, but Israel and all those who care about our hostages are doing whatever we can to bring him home. We are screaming and calling to the international community, listen to the voice of Bipin,” Herzog tells Bipin’s mother, Padma, and sister, Pushpa. They were also joined by Nepal’s ambassador to Israel, Dhan Prasad Pandit, according to the statement.

During the meeting, Pushpa thanks Israel for its support and urges the world to press for her brother’s release: “It’s too much heartbreak for me and my family. I want to thank Israel from the bottom of my heart for standing with us. I thank God for giving us hope. And it’s my appeal to the international community, please: We can’t imagine how he’s living there. I ask the international community, please, do whatever you can.”

Following the meeting, Herzog also connected the two relatives with United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and helped arrange a meeting between them, the president’s office adds.

The family arrived for the first time in Israel last week, nearly two years after Joshi, an agriculture student living in the country, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Alumim during the October 7, 2023, massacre.

Hostage coordinator said to ask Ben Gvir to ‘tone it down’ after meeting top Palestinian prisoner amid fears hostages could be harmed

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (left) speaks to jailed Palestinian terror convict Marwan Barghouti in his cell in footage released on August 14, 2025 (X screenshot; used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Government hostage pointman Gal Hirsch called far-right National Security minister to ask him to “tone down” his rhetoric amid fears that the hostages could be harmed in response, Ynet reports.

The call comes after Ben Gvir visited the cell of prominent Palestinian terror convict Marwan Barghouti last week and appeared to taunt him in footage published on social media.

Ben Gvir is said to have responded that he understands the concerns of the hostage families, but “the conception that you can’t annoy the terrorists is over.”

Huckabee marks 100 days as envoy to Israel, says US strikes ‘obliterated Iran’s nuclear program’

In a video marking his first 100 days as the US envoy to Israel, Ambassador Mike Huckabee says Operation Midnight Hammer in June “obliterated Iran’s nuclear program.”

He lays out US accomplishments in Israel since he took office, including freeing US citizen Edan Alexander from Gaza, and removing “burdensome bureaucratic hurdles to enable Christian pilgrims to once again visit the Holy Land without impediment.”

“The bonds between Israel and the United States have never been stronger,” says the Baptist minister and former governor. “We’re just getting started. Watch what happens.”

Shortly after his election, @POTUS called me with a clear directive: to enact his policies as the next U.S. Ambassador to @Israel. As I reflect on my first 100 days, I am proud of all that we here at the Embassy and this Administration have accomplished. pic.twitter.com/jYyjjJUjSx

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) August 17, 2025

Levin tells court that office he locked AG out of is his private office

Justice Minister Yariv Levin (left) and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, in a composite image. (Flash90)

Justice Minister Yariv Levin tells the High Court that the office that his driver changed the locks on last week to prevent Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from using was his own private office.

“The office that was locked was the private office of the justice minister,” he writes to the court.

In recent years the office in Tel Aviv had been shared for use by the justice minister and the attorney general.

The incident appeared to flout a court order prohibiting Levin from interfering with Baharav-Miara’s duties.

The switch was Levin’s latest attempt to kick Baharav-Miara out of the workings of the government after the cabinet last month voted to fire her after forming a special committee for that purpose. The High Court froze that decision immediately, instructing the government not to block Baharav-Miara from performing her responsibilities in any way.

Levin, who has frequently clashed with Baharav-Miara, has nonetheless objected to her doing her job. After the vote to fire her, Levin’s driver called Baharav-Miara’s staff and instructed them not to use the office that Baharav-Miara and Levin share in Tel Aviv.

Over 160 tons of aid dropped into Gaza as Indonesia, Denmark join international mission

This picture taken from the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, shows a Belgian Air Force military transport plane flying over the territory after dropping humanitarian aid on August 17, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Aircraft from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and — for the first time — Denmark and Indonesia airdropped 161 pallets of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip today, the IDF says.

Each pallet contains around one ton of food.

Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, does not have relations with Israel.

Israel re-adopted a policy of allowing aid airdrops on July 26, amid mounting international criticism over the hunger crisis in Gaza. But airdrops are only able to deliver a small fraction of what can come into Gaza by land. They also pose safety risks for the civilians who can be hit by the packages from above.

Protesters shut Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway in both directions

Protesters are again blocking Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway in both directions.

Video from the scene shows demonstrators holding red and white signs across the road calling for an end to the war in Gaza and a deal to release the hostages.

The protest is part of a nationwide general strike called by bereaved families and the relatives of hostages.

מפגינים ירדו לכביש: נתיבי איילון שוב נחסמו לתנועה בשני הכיוונים | @yonatanraveh11 pic.twitter.com/F5UIZcHTnF

— i24NEWS (@i24NEWS_HE) August 17, 2025

Police appeal court decision to allow Qatargate suspect to return to work in Netanyahu’s office

Qatargate suspect Jonatan Urich attends a hearing at the Lod District Court on May 22, 2025. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)

Police appeal a court decision to allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aide Jonatan Urich, a key suspect in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, to meet and work with the premier.

Police write that his “actions were done against the interests of the prime minister’s office and the state.”

Police add that evidence indicates Netanyahu was not aware of Urich’s dealings with Qatar.

Last week Judge Menachem Mizrahi, of the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, dismissed the police’s request to extend various restrictions placed on Urich after his initial house arrest in May.

Urich, along with Netanyahu’s former spokesman Eli Feldstein, spearheaded a pro-Qatari public relations campaign to cast the Gulf state in a positive light ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, hosted in Doha, and reportedly continued his PR work for Qatar well after the Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel sparked the ongoing war, despite the nation’s ties to the terror group.

Urich, Feldstein and a third adviser to Netanyahu, Yisrael Einhorn, are suspected of multiple offenses tied to their alleged pro-Qatar lobbying, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen, all while working for the prime minister. The investigation has also expanded to cover business connections of former security officials to Qatar.

Katz threatens Houthis with further strikes after missile fired at Israel

A man inspects the damage at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the Haziz power station south of the Houthi-run Yemeni capital Sanaa on August 17, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Defense Minister Israel Katz threatens the Houthis in Yemen after the Iran-backed group fired a missile at Israel a short while ago.

“The Houthis will pay dearly for every attempt to fire toward Israel. We are imposing an aerial and naval blockade that hurts it greatly, and this morning, we struck infrastructure and energy targets. This is only the beginning,” he says in a statement issued by his office.

“What follows will be strong and painful. Whoever raises a hand against Israel, his hand will be cut off,” Katz adds

WATCH: Mock wedding held for hostage Matan Zangauker and his girlfriend, former captive Ilana Gritzewsky

Ilana Gritzewsky (center), John Polin (left), and Einav Zangauker (right) stage a mock wedding between Gritzewsky and her boyfriend Matan Zangauker who is still being held captive in Gaza, on August 17, 2025, in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv (Paulina Patimer / Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

A mock wedding is being staged at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv for Ilana Gritzewsky and her partner, Matan Zangauker, who remains in Hamas captivity, as part of the daylong protest and nationwide strike opposing the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza rather than negotiate a deal to return the remaining hostages.

Both Gritzewsky and Zangauker were abducted from their home in Nir Oz on October 7. Gritzewsky was released in November 2023.

Wearing a white wedding dress and veil, Gritzewsky walks beneath a chuppah to the main stage, accompanied by John Polin, the father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Polin; Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen; Michel Illouz, father of hostage Guy Illouz, who was murdered in captivity; and Yitzhak Horn, father of hostage Eitan Horn, hold the canopy aloft.

Einav Zangauker, Matan’s mother, in a black headscarf, holds a poster of her son next to Gritzewsky underneath the chuppah.

“I love you,” Gritzewsky says, addressing Matan. “I’m fighting for you until you and all of the hostages are back. We’ll bring you back alive. We’ll heal together.”

Shortly after the ceremony ended, missile alert sirens sounded and attendees ttok cover. A missile fired from Yemen was intercepted, and there were no reports of injury or damage.

IDF intercepts missile from Yemen, no injuries or damage reported

A ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen at Israel a short while ago was intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

There are no immediate reports of impacts or injuries. Sirens had sounded in central Israel and the Jerusalem area, as hundreds of thousands of Israelis protest outside for the return of the hostages held by Hamas.

The attack comes hours after the Israeli Navy struck a power plant in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ repeated attacks on Israel.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 70 ballistic missiles and at least 22 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.

Sirens sound in central Israel, Jerusalem area amid ballistic missile attack from Yemen

Sirens sound in central Israel and the Jerusalem area following the launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen.

The IDF says it is working to shoot down the projectile.

IDF identifies missile launch from Yemen

A ballistic missile has been launched from Yemen at Israel, the military says.

Sirens are expected to sound in the next few minutes.

Sa’ar pushing to shut French consulate in Jerusalem in response to Macron’s plans to recognize Palestinian state

The French consulate in Jerusalem, pictured on June 18, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/ AFP)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is pushing for Israel to close France’s consulate in Jerusalem in response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state, an Israeli diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

He brought the issue up in the cabinet meeting today.

A decision is expected to come in the near future, Israel Hayom reported.

Macron said in July that his country would formally recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, setting off a wave of similar announcements by leading Western countries.

Eight countries – France, the UK, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, Spain and Sweden — maintain consulates-general in Jerusalem that predate Israel, without official diplomatic accreditation to Israel. The missions handle their countries’ relations with the Palestinian Authority and a range of issues inside of Jerusalem.

The presence of French consuls in Jerusalem stretches back to the 17th century, and the current building was opened in 1932, seen as a sign of France’s desire to reassert its historical role in the Holy Land.

The US closed its Jerusalem consulate in 2019 as it moved its embassy to Israel’s capital.

Former president Rivlin visits Jerusalem hostage protest, says demonstrations are not political

Former president Reuven Rivlin speaks to a crowd gathered in a hostages' families protest tent in Jerusalem on August 17, 2025. (Screenshot/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Speaking at a hostage families protest tent in Jerusalem, former president Reuven Rivlin insists that the struggle to return the hostages is an apolitical one.

“This here is not, and I did not come to, a political demonstration,” Rivlin says.

The former president adds that Israelis “live in a country whose name precedes it throughout the nations of the world, in those that love us, and those that love us less.”

“Today we find ourselves in a situation in which on one side, there is the antisemitic right, and on the other side, the left — which no longer supports Israel’s position that the war is just,” he says.

“As we are blamed by the entire world, we need to demand from everyone and say unequivocally” that the first priority is “the urgent need to return all our citizens — and [foreign] guests — that were kidnapped here, back within the borders of the State of Israel,” he continues.

Before becoming president from 2014 to 2021, Rivlin served as a Likud lawmaker.

In recent years, he has voiced opposition to policies advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, including the controversial judicial overhaul plan that sparked months of protests in 2023.

Police say number arrested at hostage protests now up to 38

A member of the Israeli security forces arrests a demonstrator, during an anti-government protest demanding a deal to release Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas since October 7, 2023, in Tel Aviv on August 17, 2025. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

Police say they have arrested 38 people across Israel for “disturbing public order and endangering public safety” as protesters demonstrate nationwide.

This morning saw a wave of mass demonstrations calling for a hostage and ceasefire deal, in which some protesters set fires on major roads and blocked traffic while calling for an end to 22 months of war in Gaza.

Though many protests in major cities have died down, they are expected to pick back up again this evening, as part of a daylong strike staged by the families of Hamas hostages and victims of the October 7 massacre.

Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 18

Displaced Palestinians make their way towards the site of a humanitarian aid airdrop at the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, on August 17, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians today, including seven people shot while waiting to collect food aid.

The figures could not be verified and Israel denies deliberately shooting those waiting for aid, although it says troops fire warning shots at those who endanger the forces.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal, whom Israel has accused of being an active Hamas operative, tells AFP that seven people were killed in an Israeli drone strike that hit a hospital courtyard in Gaza City, in the territory’s north.

Witnesses say the victims were members of a Hamas unit, which a source from the Palestinian terror group describes as responsible for distributing aid and “fighting thieves.”

There is no comment from the IDF, which is preparing a broader offensive in Gaza City and has sent ground forces to the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood in recent days.

Witnesses on Sunday report Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into the morning.

Bassal says four people were killed in a strike that hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the southern area of Khan Younis.

He says Israel continues its intense bombardment of Gaza City’s Zeitoun, where troops have carried out a ground operation for the past week.

He said civil defense crews were facing “enormous difficulties reaching those trapped under the rubble” due to the ongoing violence and lack of equipment.

Sister of Nepali hostage visits protest: ‘Please don’t forget Bipin Joshi’

Nepal's ambassador to Israel Dhan Prasad Pandit (left) sits alongside Pushpa and Padma Joshi (center and right), the sister and mother of Hamas captive Bipin Joshi, at a hostage families' tent in Jerusalem on August 17, 2025. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum/Courtesy)

The sister of Hamas-held hostage Bipin Joshi urges Israelis to continue protesting for her brother even after she and her mother return to Nepal following a brief trip to Israel.

“After we return to Nepal, please don’t forget Bipin Joshi, please keep supporting us and please raise [your] voice for my brother,” says 17-year-old Pushpa Joshi, speaking at a hostage families’ protest tent in Jerusalem, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence.

“I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for this support, for giving me strength and hope,” she tells the crowd.

This is the family’s first time visiting Israel after Joshi, an agriculture student who had been residing in the country, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Alumim during the attack on October 7, 2023.

Speaking at a protest in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square last night, Joshi’s sister implied that the recent videos released of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David — in which the two Hamas hostages appeared emaciated and in dire health — acted as an impetus for their visit.

Also present in the tent today is Nepal’s ambassador to Israel, Dhan Prasad Pandit, who gives a brief speech as Israelis across the country stage mass protests as part of a nationwide strike for a hostage-ceasefire deal.

“We want to see all the 50 hostages released soon, at once,” he says. “They all were kidnapped brutally, and they have to come back to their families safely.”

He adds that the Nepali government is still “not sure about the situation and condition of Bipin. This is a really big concern.”

Economy shrank from April to June due to Iran war, stats bureau reports

Israel’s economy shrank by an annualized 3.5 percent from April to June, as the 12-day war with Iran in June hurt consumer spending, exports, and investment, a preliminary estimate by the Central Bureau of Statistics says.

In the second quarter of the year, private spending decreased by 4.1%, while exports of goods and services declined by 3.5% and government spending fell by 1%, according to an initial estimate by the statistics bureau. Investment in fixed assets dropped 12.3% and business output slumped 6.2%.

The war against Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24, dented the economy and disrupted key industries, while thousands of workers were called into military reserve duty, affecting individuals and businesses.

Gal Gadot visits Hostages Square amid nationwide strike urging captives’ release

Gal Gadot embraces Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, at Hostages Square on August 17, 2025. (Lior Rotstein/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Actress Gal Gadot is visiting Hostages Square in Tel Aviv today amid a nationwide strike opposing the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza while negotiations for a deal to return the remaining 50 captives are stalled.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum releases a video of Gadot embracing and speaking with Lishay Miran-Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran. The star has been an outspoken advocate on social media and elsewhere for the hostages and their families.

She also meets with other hostages’ family members, including Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, and former hostage Yocheved Lifchitz, who was released from captivity after two weeks. Lifshitz’s husband, Oded, was murdered in captivity by Hamas.

גל גדות הגיעה לכיכר החטופים כדי לחזק את משפחות החטופים שם פגשה בין היתר את לישי לביא מירן pic.twitter.com/7NCMawtfin

— Gil mishali גיל משעלי (@gilmishali) August 17, 2025

Hamas rejects Israel’s plan to relocate Gaza City residents as ‘blatant deception’

Tents housing displaced Palestinians in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 14, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Hamas says that Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area.

The terror group says the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception.”

Israel said earlier this month that it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban center. The IDF says it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting on Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat zones to the south of the enclave “to ensure their safety.”

Hamas says in a statement that the deployment of tents under the guise of humanitarian purposes is intended to “cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute.”

The plan has raised international alarm over the fate of the war-torn Strip, which is home to about 2.2 million people. It has also drawn sharp backlash in Israel, where relatives of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas are holding a nationwide strike in protest of the plan. They are calling for an end to the war through a negotiated hostage-release deal.

Zamir: IDF moving to war’s ‘next stage,’ will be ‘focusing on Gaza City’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is seen in the Gaza Strip, August 17, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

During a visit to the Gaza Strip this morning, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military will “soon move on to the next stage” of an ongoing offensive against Hamas.

His comments come after the security cabinet voted earlier this month to conquer Gaza City. In remarks published by the IDF, Zamir says, “Today we are approving the plan for the next stage of the war.”

“We will maintain the momentum of Operation Gideon’s Chariots while focusing on Gaza City,” he says, referring to a military offensive against Hamas that was launched in May.

“We will continue to strike until Hamas is defeated, with our eyes on the hostages. We will act with a sophisticated, measured, and responsible strategy. The IDF will employ all its capabilities on land, in the air, and at sea in order to strike Hamas with force,” Zamir says.

The IDF chief says, “Soon we will move on to the next stage of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, in which we will continue to deepen the harm to Hamas in Gaza City until its defeat.”

“Operation Gideon’s Chariots has met its objectives,” Zamir says, adding that “Hamas no longer possesses the same capabilities it had before the operation; we have dealt it a severe blow.”

Zamir says the offensive against Hamas is not “localized,” but rather part of a “long-term and planned program, with a multifront vision to strike all components of the axis, first and foremost Iran.”

In fierce rebuke, Netanyahu says strike is ‘distancing the release of our hostages’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a weekly cabinet meeting on August 17, 2025. (Screenshot/GPO)

As Israelis across the country block roads and call for a deal for the release of the hostages in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the nationwide strike is making a ceasefire with Hamas less likely.

“Those who today call for ending the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’s position and distancing the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the atrocities of October 7 will repeat themselves again and again,” he says at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, “and that our sons and daughters will have to fight again and again in an endless war.”

“To make progress on the release of our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel, we must complete the mission and defeat Hamas,” he continues, in statements released by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“This is precisely the cabinet’s decision that was adopted last week. We are determined to implement it,” he says, referring to a security cabinet decision to conquer Gaza City, which sparked calls for today’s strike.

Sunday’s general strike was organized by the October Council, which represents some of the family members of the hostages and bereaved relatives of those killed in the fighting that erupted with the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, as well as the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Organizers said last night that they were preparing for nearly one million people to pass through Hostages Square in Tel Aviv throughout the day, and for tens of thousands to join activities at hundreds of other sites across Israel.

Netanyahu says that Hamas continues to refuse Israel’s conditions for an end to the war in Gaza: “We insist not only that Hamas be disarmed, but also that Israel enforce the demilitarization of the Strip over time through continuous action against any attempt at rearmament or organization by any terror group.”

He stresses that Hamas wants Israel to exit Gaza entirely, including leaving the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and the security perimeter around Gaza.

“This would allow Hamas to regroup, rearm, and attack us again,” says Netanyahu.

Turning to Lebanon, Netanyahu says that ongoing strikes against Hezbollah fighters and rocket launchers “is in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.”

“Under this agreement, we enforce with fire any violation and any attempt by Hezbollah to rearm,” he continues.

‘We’re with you’: After declining to back strike, Histadrut chief visits Hostages Square

Arnon Bar-David, chair of the Histadrut labor union, speaks in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on August 17, 2025. (Screenshot)

The chief of Israel’s powerful Histadrut labor union expresses solidarity with protesters in a nationwide strike for the release of Israeli hostages and an end to the war, days after declining to have his organization formally back the work stoppage.

Arnon Bar-David makes the remarks in a visit to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, the hub of the protests.

“I am with you, the people of Israel are with you, the workers of Israel are with you,” he says, surrounded by relatives of the hostages. “A lot of unions have come today to the square to show their support.”

Representatives of the unions, he says, “are in all of the intersections of the State of Israel,” and “are coming out and shutting down, holding protests.”

He references his decision to not formally join the strike, which has enlisted a long roster of companies, organizations and local authorities.

When he decided last week to refrain from striking, Bar-David said the action “has no practical outcome.” Today, he adds that he feared joining in would politicize the issue of freeing the hostages, which he says is “the last thing I want to happen.”

“This is not an issue of left and right,” he says. “This is an issue of bringing people back, bringing back people who were kidnapped, kidnapped from their bed, kidnapped from their shift and from their tank, and we need to bring them home. What could be simpler than that? That’s the central duty of the state.”

He continues, “We’re with you. We ask ourselves all the time, what more is there to do?”

In a message to Israel’s political leadership, he says, “Let’s get this matter taken care of.”

“We want to get back to some sort of quiet already,” he continues. “We want to close this circle, we want to see our sons and our fallen back home. We want to see the soldiers of the State of Israel ending their time in Gaza — in victory — but ending.”

He notes his past criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says, “Look the public in the eyes, look the families in the eyes and do what you need to do. Make the deal, finish this chapter.”

32 detained during nationwide protests for hostages’ release, police say

Police announce that they have detained 32 protesters across the country amid demonstrations demanding the release of Israeli hostages and an end to the war in Gaza.

The protests, many of which have blocked major highways, are part of a nationwide strike organized by the families of hostages and victims of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.

The bulk of detained demonstrators had been protesting on Begin Road and Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv. Seven others were arrested in Jerusalem for blocking roads during a march throughout the city.

The three hour-long march in the capital has since ended, after the demonstrators were stopped on their way to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence on Azza Street. Police closed a section of the street to both cars and pedestrians in light of the mass protests.

Gaza evacuee who died in Italian hospital had cancer, Israel says

Following reports that a 20-year-old Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip had died after arriving at an Italian hospital in a “state of severe physical deterioration,” Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities says the woman had cancer.

The cancer diagnosis had been omitted from reports of her death.

COGAT posts to X a document from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis that states that Marah Abu Zuhri suffered from leukemia.

“Italian authorities contacted Israel requesting Marah’s evacuation due to her illness, and Israel approved it,” says COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that coordinates humanitarian matters in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Zuhri had been admitted to Pisa University Hospital late Wednesday and died on Friday.

The hospital described her as arriving in a “state of severe physical deterioration,” though Italian media reports — cited by publications including the BBC, the Guardian, and AFP — claimed she was suffering from severe malnutrition.

#TheFacts, which the report did not mention: 20-year-old Marah Zohry suffered from leukemia.

Italian authorities contacted Israel requesting Marah’s evacuation *due to her illness*, and Israel approved it. Her evacuation could have taken place earlier, as Israel had proposed… https://t.co/1xu604EppK pic.twitter.com/iVyaJoMvqm

— COGAT (@cogatonline) August 17, 2025

COGAT says her evacuation to Italy “could have taken place earlier, as Israel had proposed several possible dates for the transfer.”

“Israel facilitates the medical transfer of patients, with a focus on children, and encourages countries around the world to make such requests, while Hamas keeps cynically exploiting them for its twisted agenda,” it adds.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Police use water cannon on protesters blocking key Jerusalem tunnel

Israeli police remove demonstrators blocking traffic in a tunnel, as families and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack stage a protest calling for government action to secure their release in Jerusalem on August 17, 2025. (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

Police have arrested seven demonstrators in Jerusalem so far, a law enforcement official says.

Police dragged the protesters from the pavement after dousing them with a water cannon in a key tunnel leading into the capital.

The protest is now continuing down Route 16 toward the direction of Azza Street, where the prime minister’s residence is located.

“Arrest me, but the protest movement will continue,” says a detained protester on the side of the road outside the tunnel, as two plainclothes cops encircle him on the sidewalk.

Earlier, police had said 25 were arrested across the country. The protests are part of a nationwide strike for the release of the hostages held in Gaza and against the government’s plan to conquer Gaza City.

Police drag protesters off the road in a Jerusalem tunnel after dousing them with water cannon — 5 arrested so far pic.twitter.com/dPWXqSpbeF

— charlie summers (@cbsu03) August 17, 2025

Released hostage Arbel Yehoud: Military pressure ‘only kills’ captives

Yarden Bibas, Sharon Aloni Cunio, Arbel Yehoud and Eitan Cunio at a protest in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on August 17, 2025. (Uriel Even Sapir)

Released hostage Arbel Yehoud addresses the crowd at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square during the daylong protest being held as part of the nationwide strike opposing the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza rather than negotiate a deal to return the remaining hostages.

“I know firsthand what it’s like to be in captivity. I know that military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back — it only kills them. The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games,” she says.

Yehoud describes the suffocating conditions underground, “without water, without air, without the ability to breathe,” and says that today’s strike cannot remain a one-time event.

“We need to stop normal life again and again until those in captivity return. You’ve seen the photos, the videos, the horrors. How much longer will you continue to close your eyes? There is only one way to bring them all back: a deal now,” she adds.

Yehoud spent 482 days in captivity before being released in January during the most recent ceasefire deal. Her partner, Ariel Cunio, remains a hostage along with his brother David Cunio and 48 others.

Yehoud is accompanied by David’s wife, released hostage Sharon Aloni-Cunio, who was freed in November 2023 with their two daughters, Yuli and Emma; and by Eitan Cunio, brother of Ariel and David; and Yarden Bibas, David’s best friend.

Bibas was released from captivity in January. His wife Shiri and their children Ariel, 4, and baby Kfir, were also taken hostage, then murdered in captivity in Gaza.

Police say 25 arrested, roads now open amid nationwide protests; Jerusalem tunnel still blocked

Police say they have so far arrested 25 protesters across the country this morning, amid nationwide protests and road blockages demanding a hostage and ceasefire deal and an end to the war.

Eleven of the detained demonstrators were arrested in Tel Aviv after they “violated public order and significantly impaired freedom of movement,” on the roads, law enforcement officials say.

Police claim all roads are now open to traffic after major roadblocks on several major highways. However, protesters in Jerusalem are currently blocking a key tunnel on Route 16 leading into the capital.

Lapid visits Hostages Square during strike: ‘They won’t stop us’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid records a video from Hostages Square on August 17, 2025. (Screenshot/X)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid visits Hostages Square to voice support for hostage families and criticize the government during today’s nationwide strike to call for the release of Gaza hostages and an end to the war.

“We are shutting down the country today,” Lapid says in a video message delivered in the plaza in Tel Aviv as it fills with demonstrators, which he then posts on X.

“Because our hostages are not pawns that the government is allowed to sacrifice for the sake of the war effort — they are citizens that the government must return to their families,” the Yesh Atid chair continues.

“They won’t stop us, they won’t tire us, they won’t exhaust us, we’ll continue to fight until the hostages return home, there’s a deal, the war ends,” he adds.

In a post on X, Blue and White-National Unity chairman Benny Gantz also expresses support for the families and appears to take the government to task for condemning them after several cabinet ministers criticize the strike.

“To attack the families of the hostages – when you bear responsibility for their children being held captive by Hamas for nearly two years – weakens and divides us,” he writes. “To support them – that is what strengthens us and them.”

Syria’s Sharaa accuses Israel of trying to ‘gain power’ as protesters wave Israeli flag

An Israeli flag is waved at a protest in Sweida in southern Syria on August 16, 2025. (Screenshot/X)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa says the battle to unify his country after years of civil war “should not be with blood,” rejecting any partition and accusing Israel of meddling in the south.

His remarks come as hundreds demonstrated in south Syria’s Sweida province on Saturday, denouncing sectarian violence last month that drew in Israeli airstrikes and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province.

At the protest, some demonstrators waved the Israeli flag and called for self-determination for the region.

Sharaa’s remarks are released today by Syrian state TV.

“We still have another battle ahead of us to unify Syria, and it should not be with blood and military force… it should be through some kind of understanding because Syria is tired of war,” Sharaa said during a dialogue session involving notables from the northwest province of Idlib and other senior officials.

“I do not see Syria as at risk of division. Some people desire a process of dividing Syria and trying to establish cantons… this matter is impossible,” he said according to a recording of the meeting, distributed overnight by state media.

“Some parties seek to gain power through regional power, Israel or others. This is also extremely difficult and cannot be implemented,” he said.

Protesters in #Sweida , southern Syria, raise the Druze flag and the Israeli flag, chanting, "The people want to enter Israel." pic.twitter.com/hHIbTzIKLr

— Ibrahim Hamidi ابراهيم حميدي (@ibrahimhamidi) August 16, 2025

A week of bloodshed in Sweida began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces, with Israel also carrying out strikes.

Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze, including summary executions.

Sharaa said that Sweida “witnessed many violations from all sides… some members of the security forces and army in Syria also carried out some violations.”

The state is required “to hold all perpetrators of violations to account,” whatever their affiliation, he added.

“Israel is intervening directly in Sweida, seeking to implement policies aimed at weakening the state in general or finding excuses to interfere in ongoing policies in the southern region,” Sharaa said.

Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it has acted to defend the minority group as well as enforce its demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria.

Nine protesters reportedly arrested in Tel Aviv during nationwide strike

At least nine protesters have been detained or arrested so far in Tel Aviv, seven of whom were blocking the city’s central Ayalon Highway, according to a lawyers’ group for detained anti-government activists.

Police have not responded to a request for comment regarding the number of and grounds for the arrests. The demonstrations are part of a nationwide strike demanding a hostage deal and end to the war.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters move to block Jerusalem’s Begin Highway to traffic in both directions.

Police and Border Police officers are permitting demonstrators to march southward on the road. No known arrests have yet been made in Jerusalem.

שלושה עצורים לפחות בבגין ת״א.
עו״ד ניר אלפסה בדרכו לתחנת לב
נעדכן@niralfasa1

למידע נוסף ולתרומות:https://t.co/0Xhn1Wp4hK

עקבו אחרינו בפייסבוק:https://t.co/7pWfXdCtV8

עקבו אחרינו ב-Xhttps://t.co/apVlrXVueC

עקבו אחרינו בטלגרם:https://t.co/xNK7GbBzKu pic.twitter.com/LvnK7EzPhV

— מערך עוטף עצורים (@AtzurimHafganot) August 17, 2025

Tel Aviv theaters cancel performances as part of nationwide strike

Tel Aviv’s two most prominent theaters announce that they are canceling today’s performances as part of a nationwide strike for the release of the hostages and an end to the war in Gaza.

Habima, Israel’s national theater, has scratched its shows amid the strike, which a range of companies, organizations and local authorities have endorsed, according to Channel 12.

The Cameri Theatre announces the cancellation of today’s shows in white block letters on a black background on its homepage.

Both theaters are adjacent to prominent spaces for protests on behalf of the hostages. The Cameri is next to Hostages Square, the central location of today’s strike.

Police use water cannon to disperse protesters on Jerusalem highway

Police have brought out a water cannon to disperse protesters blocking a major Jerusalem highway to traffic.

Plainclothes cops and Border Police officers attempt to contain the hundreds of demonstrators, protesting on Begin Highway for an end to the war and a deal to release the hostages held in Gaza.

Several major highways across the country are also being blocked by demonstrators taking part in a nationwide strike aimed at pressuring the government on behalf of the hostages.

“Military pressure kills the hostages!” the demonstrators chant to the beat of drums.

Protesters continue marching down Begin Highway, police bring out a water cannon pic.twitter.com/vB0vUVsClx

— charlie summers (@cbsu03) August 17, 2025

‘We cannot stop fighting’: Protest march enters Hostages Square as hundreds gather

Anat and Haggai Angrest, parents of hostage Matan Angrest, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on August 17, 2025. (Ariela Karmel/Times of Israel)

A march of protesters has now entered Hostages Square, joining hundreds who are filling the plaza as the opening speeches of today’s strike get underway.

Among them are family members of the hostages, including Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker.

“The hostages are all of our children!” she says. “We must save them now!”

The crowd erupts in chants of “You are not alone, we are with you,” echoing through the square as yellow signs and flags are raised.

“Netanyahu is a fascist and a coward,” says Danny Elgarat, brother of murdered hostage Itzik Elgarat, to loud applause.

Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, adds, “The Israeli government isn’t listening to us.”

Ayelet Goldin, sister of Hadar Goldin — an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014 whose body has been held by Hamas for 11 years — speaks with emotion. “I came here from the Golan and every intersection was filled with people,” she says.

Calling on Israelis to take to the streets, she adds, “The hostages are the heart of Israeli society. We must bring them back in order to return to ourselves and our values.”

Noga, the aunt of hostage Alon Ohel, says she sends him strength every day.

“As hard as this is for me, it is nothing compared to what he is experiencing,” she says. “We cannot stop fighting for them. Saving them means saving ourselves.”

At Hostages Square during nationwide strike, Herzog urges global pressure on Hamas

President Isaac Herzog speaks at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on the day of a nationwide strike for the hostages' release on August 17, 2025. (Screenshot/Video by Avi Kanner)

President Isaac Herzog visits Hostages Square in Tel Aviv as demonstrators gather for a nationwide strike demanding the release of hostages held by terror groups in Gaza and an end to the war.

He meets with families of hostages and speaks to the press during the visit.

“There’s no Israeli who doesn’t want them back home,” the president says. “We can argue about philosophies, but truly, the people of Israel wants our brothers and sisters back home.”

In a message to the 50 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive, he says: “We haven’t forgotten you for a moment. We’re making every effort to bring you back home.”

Switching to English, Herzog urges the international community to step up pressure on Hamas.

“I’m here to say to the international media and to the international decision makers: Our sons and daughters are there in the dungeons of Gaza for 681 days,” Herzog says alongside Sharon Sharabi, brother of released hostage Eli Sharabi, and Yael Adar, the mother of Tamir Adar, who was killed in battle by Hamas during its attack on October 7, 2023, and whose body remains held in Gaza.

“We want them back home as soon as possible. The world should want them back home as soon as possible. Stop being a bunch of hypocrites. Press – because when you know how to press, you press, press and tell Hamas, ‘No deal, no nothing, until you release them,'” he continues.

“I want to say to our brothers and sisters all over the world, we are together in this plight. We want the hostages back home. They are the most important issue on world affairs, and we want to see them back home as soon as possible,” Herzog adds.

According to a statement from his office, Herzog is also meeting privately with additional hostages’ families “to hear their testimonies and to express his solidarity and support.”

Protesters block major Jerusalem highway, calling for hostage deal and end to war

Protesters block Jerusalem's Begin Boulevard as part of a nationwide strike for the release of the hostages in Gaza on August 17, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Protesters calling for a hostage deal and an end to the war are blocking a major highway in Jerusalem.

The marchers, who are blocking Begin Boulevard to traffic, set out from Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus this morning.

Organizers intentionally kept the march’s final destination under wraps, telling protesters to “follow the drummers” without elaborating.

The drummers suddenly pivoted in the first few minutes of the demonstration.

Police have declared the protest illegal but have not yet started arresting demonstrators sitting on the pavement.

Smotrich condemns strike for hostages as ‘bad campaign that plays into Hamas’s hands’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on August 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemns today’s nationwide strike for the release of the hostages and an end to the war as a “bad and damaging campaign” that he says serves the interests of the Hamas terror group.

He is one of multiple members of the right-wing governing coalition to condemn the strike, which was called by families of hostages in protest of the government’s plans to invade Gaza City.

“The nation of Israel is waking up this morning to a bad and damaging campaign that plays into Hamas’s hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and tries to make Israel surrender to its enemies,” Smotrich posts on X.

He claims that the strike has fallen short of hype that has built up over the past week. Even though a long list of companies and local authorities have endorsed the strike, he claims that it has had little effect.

“The campaign has not taken off and involves very few people,” he claims. “The State of Israel is not standing still and not striking.”

Smotrich, who vocally favors Israeli annexation of Gaza and the establishment of settlements there, claims that the events of the day show that the “vast majority” of Israelis “understand that a state that values life cannot surrender to its enemies and stop the war a moment before the destruction of Hamas.”

Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Israelis support a deal with Hamas to release the remaining 50 hostages and end the war. The planned invasion of Gaza City is expected to take months.

Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky also condemns the protests.

“The riots supporting Hamas are kicking off,” he posts. “Jews, Israelis who are torching the state in an attempt to prevent the destruction of Hamas. We’ve had people like this in our nation throughout history. We’ve overcome them. We will this time as well.”

פרעות התמיכה בחמאס יצאו לדרך.
יהודים, ישראלים ששורפים את המדינה בנסיון למנוע את השמדת חמאס.
היו בעם שלנו כבר כאלו במהלך ההסטוריה. התגברנו עליהם. כך יהיה גם הפעם. pic.twitter.com/tZexic9WyM

— חנוך מילביצקי – Hanoch Milwidsky (@hanochmilwidsky) August 17, 2025

Mothers with strollers protest in Hostages Square amid nationwide strike

Strollers with yellow ribbons and signs sit in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv as part of a nationwide strike on behalf of the Hamas-held captives in Gaza on August 17, 2025. (Ariela Karmel/Times of Israel)

Hostages Square in Tel Aviv is steadily filling with people carrying signs and wearing yellow ribbons on the morning of a nationwide strike called by the families of the captives in Gaza, demanding their release and an end to the war.

In the heart of the square, rows of empty strollers are arranged in the plaza, a haunting exhibition symbolizing the children killed in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack. Attached to many of them are bright yellow signs reading “A mother never gives up.”

Under a large shaded canopy, dozens of mothers sit with their babies and young children, gathering in quiet solidarity. Strollers line the space alongside other exhibitions filled with photos of the hostages.

“I want them to come back and the war to end, and we won’t stop until they do,” says Dana, who has come with her baby and a group of other mothers.

The mothers’ protest is part of a series of demonstrations held in the square during today’s strike.

Crowds protest at homes of cabinet ministers as part of nationwide strike for hostages

Demonstrators calling for a hostage release and ceasefire deal near the Jerusalem home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on August 17, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

A few dozen demonstrators gather near Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer’s home in Jerusalem to protest for a hostage deal and an end to the war.

Protesters also gather at the homes of Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Economy Minister Nir Barkat, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel.

Kisch blasts Israeli folk music over the chants of the protesters.

האיש האמון על חינוך ילדינו מפעיל מוסיקה בקולי קולות בגינה כדי לא לשמוע מפגינים. pic.twitter.com/4UcK00TLYM

— Ben Caspit בן כספית (@BenCaspit) August 17, 2025

At the Dermer protest, two police cars stand meters away from the mostly middle-aged demonstrators, though the officers do not exit their cars.

Hannah Katsman, the mother of Hayim Katsman, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Holit during their October 7, 2023, attack, is among those at the protest.

Protesters hold posters with the names and faces of the hostages and chant against Dermer, who has been leading Israel’s negotiating team for a hostage release-ceasefire deal since February.

Many hostages’ families have accused the top Netanyahu aide of failing in his role, as no hostages have yet been released through negotiations under his watch.

One man holds a sign that reads: “Dermer, hangman of 50, henchman of one.”

The demonstrations take place on the morning of a nationwide strike set to last throughout the day, organized by the family members of hostages and victims of the October 7 attack. Protesters have already begun blocking major highways throughout the country, and large rallies are slated to take place later this evening.

IDF confirms strike on Yemeni power plant ‘used by the Houthi terror regime’

The IDF, in a statement, confirms carrying out a strike against “energy infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime” near the Yemeni capital of Sanaa this morning.

The strike was carried out by Israeli Navy missile boats, according to a defense official. Explosions were reported earlier at a power plant in the area.

“The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its citizens, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory,” the IDF says.

Since the last Israeli strike on Yemen on July 21, the Iran-backed Houthis have launched at least seven ballistic missiles and seven drones at Israel.

Relatives of hostages plan to set up protest encampment tomorrow on Gaza border

Protesters set up tents outside of the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 31, 2024. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza announce that they will set up a tent encampment on the Gaza border as part of ongoing protests on behalf of their loved ones.

The encampment will go up tomorrow under the name “Waypoint 50,” a reference to the 50 captives held by terror groups in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

The announcement comes amid a nationwide strike today called by relatives of the hostages to call for their release and protest the planned expansion of the war in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says that the encampment will be set up “at the point closest to the 50 hostages on the Gaza border.” It does not specify where that location will be. The hostages are not thought to be held together.

The announcement says families of the captives will “sleep there, fight there, and from there declare the coming actions of the struggle to bring back their loved ones.”

A statement from the families says, “The obtuseness of the government… obligates us to intensify the struggle and do everything to bring back our loved ones.”

Israeli Navy struck Yemeni power plant near Houthi-controlled capital, official says

The Israeli Navy carried out this morning’s strike on the power plant south of Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, an Israeli defense official says.

Local media reported large explosions in the area that knocked generators out of service. The Iran-backed Houthi terror group blamed the strike on “aggression.”

There is no immediate official comment from the IDF on the strike.

It marks the second time that the Israeli Navy has struck in Yemen, after an attack on the Houthi-controlled Hodeida port in June.

المشاهد الأولى للانفجارات العنيفة التي هزت #صنعاء وسط أنباء عن غارات إسرائيلية استهدفت محطة كهرباء "حزيز"

للمزيد | https://t.co/8OJyKYAFaH#إرم_نيوز #اليمن pic.twitter.com/c0KY0uHcCw

— Erem News – إرم نيوز (@EremNews) August 17, 2025

Houthis say Yemen power plant was hit by ‘aggression’ without identifying source

Houthi rebels rally in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and against US strikes on Yemen, outside Sanaa, Yemen, January 22, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

The Houthi terror group blames an explosion at a power plant south of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on “aggression,” the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reports.

The Yemeni channel does not identify the source of the reported “aggression.” At least two explosions, heard earlier by local residents, have reportedly knocked some generators out of service.

Teams are working to put out a fire caused by the incident, Al Masirah added, citing a source in civil defense.

The Iran-backed Houthis began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas-led massacre. Israel has bombed Yemen regularly in response.

The US and UK had also previously launched attacks against the Houthis in Yemen.

In May, the US announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to the group’s shipping attacks. The Houthis said the deal did not include stopping strikes on Israel, which they have continued to attack.

Major highways blocked by protesters amid nationwide strike for hostages

Protesters are blocking some major roads in central Israel as part of a national strike for the release of the hostages and against the expansion of the war in Gaza.

Roads obstructed during Israelis’ morning commute, the first day of the workweek, include Route 1 from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Route 4 at Raanana Junction.

Routes 65, 75 and 89 in northern Israel are also blocked, according to the Hebrew outlet Ynet, as are Routes 443, 40 and 44 in central Israel.

Route 1 is blocked in both directions, with demonstrators lighting bonfires on the lanes.

מפגינים הבעירו צמיגים בכביש 1, החסום לתנועה כבר יותר מחצי שעה@VeredPelman
(צילום: זכריה מנצור Zachary Manzur) https://t.co/YS9lQWfJ5x pic.twitter.com/lmHg214P9i

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 17, 2025

Blocking roads has been a frequent tactic of protesters in recent years.

‘A day to save lives’: Bereaved families, relatives of hostages launch nationwide strike

Anat Angrest (left), the mother of hostage Matan speaks alongside Vicky Cohen (C) and Lishay Miran Lavi at Hostages Square on August 17, 2025. (Shai Hazan / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Israelis bereaved in the war and the families of hostages launch a nationwide strike to protest the expansion of the war in Gaza rather than striking a deal to free those held by Hamas.

“I’m here this morning to ask every Israeli citizen to act today to save lives,” says Reut Recht-Edri, mother of Ido Edri, who was murdered at the Nova music festival during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. “To stop everything, to leave home and to fight for the return of all the hostages, for saving the soldiers, for our state of Israel.”

The strike began this morning and will continue throughout the day with protests and actions at 400 locations across the country, say participants in the press conference, held by the October Council opposite the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

It is endorsed by thousands of businesses, local authorities and some unions. Hostages Square in Tel Aviv is expected to see 1 million visitors.

The strike comes after a government decision to expand the war by invading Gaza City. Relatives of hostages are calling on the government instead to end the war with a comprehensive deal to free all of the 50 remaining hostages, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

“We’re united in a simple demand for the government of Israel to put on the table today an Israeli outline for a comprehensive deal to end the war in exchange for the last hostage, ” says Naomi Abir, mother of Lotan, an American-Israeli who was killed at the Nova festival. “Without these conditions, we know the other side won’t accept.”

Lishay Miran Lavi, whose husband Omri is held in Gaza says “today is just the beginning.”

“We intend to escalate the struggle. We have no other choice,” she says.

Hostage families kick off nationwide strike over government’s war plan

A nationwide general strike got underway at 6:29 a.m., as families of the hostages protested the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza with a campaign to conquer Gaza City, rather than sign a deal to return their loved ones.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said last night that it was preparing for nearly one million people to pass through Hostages Square in Tel Aviv throughout the day, and for tens of thousands to join activities at hundreds of other sites across Israel.

To kick off the day of protests, activists have stationed themselves at intersections up and down the country and will be handing out yellow ribbons to passersby.

The main events of the day will get underway at 7 a.m., when the October Council will deliver a statement to the press from Sarona Market in Tel Aviv, across the street from the Kirya military headquarters.

Then, at 9 a.m., a special photography exhibition will open at Hostages Square for the public to view throughout the day, until 6 p.m.

The main stage at Hostages Square will also feature speeches from relatives of the hostages at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.

The day’s events will culminate with a mass rally outside the Kirya military headquarters at 8 p.m.

Residents of Yemeni capital Sanaa report hearing explosions near power station

At least two explosions were heard in the Yemeni capital Sanaa near a power station, residents say.

The reason for the reported explosions is not immediately clear.

Woman evacuated from Gaza to Italy dies in hospital days after arrival

A 20-year old Palestinian woman described as being in a “state of severe physical deterioration” has died after being transferred to Italy for treatment, the hospital says.

The patient was admitted to Pisa University Hospital late Wednesday and died on Friday. She was removed from the Gaza Strip as part of a humanitarian mission and arrived with a “with a very complex, compromised clinical picture,” according to the hospital.

She died after entering a respiratory crisis and subsequently going into cardiac arrest, it says in a statement.

Hospital staff had performed tests and started supportive therapy before she died, the statement says.

The woman, named by Italian media as Marah Abu Zuhri, had arrived in Italy with her mother.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says almost 120 Palestinians — 31 patients and their families — had been flown to Rome, Milan and Pisa on three planes.

In a post on X, Tajani says that it was the 14th medical evacuation of Palestinians that Italy had conducted since January 2024, and the largest.

The hospital does not specify whether the woman had suffered from malnutrition, but says that she had arrived in a “state of severe physical deterioration.”

Two men seriously injured in shooting in Acre

Two men have been badly injured in a shooting in Acre, police and paramedics say, in the second shooting incident to take place tonight.

Paramedics found the victims, both in their 40s, lying on the ground with serious injuries. One of them is currently unconscious and is unstable, breathing through a tube.

They were both taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya for further treatment.

Police say they are investigating the circumstances of the shooting and searching for suspects.

Earlier tonight, a woman was killed in the coastal Arab-majority city of Jisr as-Zarqa.

The woman was identified by Arabic media as Rosette Jarban.