Protesters block Tel Aviv highway, demand Gaza ceasefire
Israeli Channel 12 is reporting that protesters have blocked the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv to demand the return of captives and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Scenes broadcast by activists and media showed protesters holding a large banner that said: “Occupying Gaza means sacrificing the abductees and soldiers.”
Haaretz reported that activists calling for a captive deal blocked the Ayalon Highway for 15 minutes before police waiting at the scene removed them. Seven demonstrators and a Haaretz photographer were threatened with fines for traffic violations, the paper said.
Relatives of freed captives also briefly blocked southbound traffic, calling for a deal to release those still held in Gaza and opposing Israel’s planned conquest of Gaza City, Walla reported.
“Their time is running out. A deal is on the table” and “Enough killing, enough bereavement, hostages above all,” the protesters chanted.
The action comes two days after a nationwide strike that blocked roads across Israel as demonstrators pushed for a ceasefire.
Protesters hold pictures of captives held in Gaza as they block a road in Tel Aviv on August 19, 2025, to demand the immediate end of the war in Gaza.
The concern is only for the remaining PoWs and for the soldiers... Just shows that the remaining captives are the only bargaining chip Hamas has. Ethnic cleansing, genocide and starvation of Palestinians are generally accepted in Israel.
Israeli opposition leader Lapid labels Netanyahu ‘most toxic leader in Western world’
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has responded to Netanyahu’s criticism of Australian PM Anthony Albanese, quipping that Netanyahu is so politically toxic that any feud with him will only boost Albanese’s popularity.
“The thing that most strengthens a leader in the democratic world today is a confrontation with Netanyahu, the most politically toxic leader in the Western world,” wrote Lapid in a post on X. “It’s unclear why Bibi is so quick to give the Australian prime minister this gift.”
UN criticises far-right Israeli minister after ‘taunting’ Marwan Barghouti
The UN has called the behaviour of Ben-Gvir “unacceptable” after he released a video showing himself confronting imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti in his cell.
“These video images showing the Israeli minister of national security reprimanding and taunting Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti face-to-face in an Israeli prison are unacceptable,” Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during a news briefing in Geneva.
“The minister’s behaviour and the publication of these images constitute an affront to the dignity of Mr Barghouti,” he added. The UN stressed that international law requires all detainees to be treated with humanity and dignity and their rights must be respected.
Ben-Gvir, who is sanctioned by the United Kingdom among other countries, told Barghouti in Hebrew in the video posted on X: “You will not defeat us. Anyone who harms the people of Israel, anyone who kills children, anyone who kills women, … we will erase them.”
Barghouti, a former Fatah official who has been imprisoned by Israel since 2002, is considered a possible successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas despite his detention.
