As the Gaza war reached its nine-month mark, Israeli protesters have blocked highways across the country on Sunday.
They called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign and urged a cease-fire to facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The protests coincide with renewed efforts by international mediators to negotiate a deal. Over the weekend, Hamas seemingly abandoned a key demand for an Israeli commitment to end the war, based on statements from Egyptian and Hamas officials who spoke to The Associated Press.
This shift could bring the first lull in hostilities since November and open the door for continued negotiations.
The conflict, sparked by the Palestinian militant group after a cross-border attack on October 7th, resulted in 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 250 individuals.
In response, Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have reportedly led to the deaths of more than 38,000 Palestinians, as reported by the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its tally.
The war has inflicted widespread destruction and exacerbated a severe humanitarian crisis.
The “Day of Disruption” began at 6:29 AM, marking the time when Hamas militants fired the initial rockets towards Israel in October.
Today, demonstrators obstructed major roads and protested outside the residences of Israeli parliament members.
Close to the Gaza border, Israeli demonstrators released 1,500 black and yellow balloons to symbolize those who lost their lives or were taken captive.
Around 120 hostages are still held captive after the release of over 100 hostages as part of a cease-fire deal in November.
Israel has determined that more than 40 of the remaining hostages have died, and there are fears that this number could rise further as the war persists.
Previously, the Israeli prime minister had expressed openness to halting the conflict as part of a hostage agreement.
However, he affirmed that Israel would continue its operations until it achieved its objectives of dismantling Hamas’ military and administrative capacities and ensuring the return of all hostages.
At the same time, clashes in Gaza persisted, resulting in nine Palestinian fatalities from Israeli airstrikes overnight and into early Sunday morning.
According to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, six Palestinians were killed in central Gaza when an airstrike hit a house in the town of Zawaida.
Additionally, a separate Israeli airstrike early Sunday morning targeted a home west of Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of three more individuals, as reported by the Hamas-affiliated civil defence.
The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, reported on Saturday that an Israeli airstrike killed at least 16 people and injured over 50 others in a school-turned-shelter located in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military stated they targeted Hamas militants and implemented “numerous measures” to minimize civilian casualties.
Also on Sunday morning, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced it had fired around 20 projectiles towards northern Israel.
These firings were aimed at locations more than 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, marking a significant distance compared to most prior attacks.
Israel’s national rescue service reported that a 28-year-old Israeli man was severely injured in Kfar Zeitim, a small town near the city of Tiberias.
Following the Israeli military’s statement that an airstrike targeted a car and killed an engineer in Hezbollah’s air defence unit on Saturday, a barrage ensued. Hezbollah acknowledged al-Attar’s death but did not reveal his position within the organisation.
Almost daily confrontations between Hezbollah and Israeli forces over the past nine months have raised the specter of escalating into a full-scale regional conflict, posing dire consequences for civilians on both sides of the border.
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