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Israeli Protesters Block Highways, Call for Cease-Fire 9 Months into War in Gaza

Protesters march along Dizengoff Street to demand the release of hostages held in Gaza, during a day of protests marking nine months since the deadly October 7 attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 7, 2024. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Protesters march along Dizengoff Street to demand the release of hostages held in Gaza, during a day of protests marking nine months since the deadly October 7 attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 7, 2024. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
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Israeli Protesters Block Highways, Call for Cease-Fire 9 Months into War in Gaza

Protesters march along Dizengoff Street to demand the release of hostages held in Gaza, during a day of protests marking nine months since the deadly October 7 attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 7, 2024. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Protesters march along Dizengoff Street to demand the release of hostages held in Gaza, during a day of protests marking nine months since the deadly October 7 attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 7, 2024. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Marking nine months since the war in Gaza started, Israeli protesters blocked highways across the country Sunday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and pushing for a cease-fire to bring back scores of hostages held by Hamas.
The demonstrations come as long-running efforts to broker a truce gained momentum last week when Hamas dropped a key demand for an Israeli commitment to end the war. The militant group still wants mediators to guarantee a permanent cease-fire, while Netanyahu is vowing to keep fighting until Israel destroys Hamas' military and governing capabilities, The Associated Press said.
“Any deal will allow Israel to return and fight until all the goals of the war are achieved,” Netanyahu said in a statement Sunday that was likely to deepen Hamas' concerns about the proposal.
Sunday’s “Day of Disruption” started at 6:29 a.m., the same time Hamas launched the first rockets toward Israel in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Protesters blocked main roads and demonstrated outside of the homes of government ministers.
Near the border with Gaza, Israeli protestors released 1,500 black and yellow balloons to symbolize those fellow citizens who were killed and abducted.
Hannah Golan said she came to protest the “devastating abandonment of our communities by our government.” She added: “It’s nine months today, to this black day, and still nobody in our government takes responsibility."
Palestinian Hamas killed some 1,200 people in the surprise attack and took 250 others hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 38,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
About 120 hostages remain captive after more than 100 hostages were released as part of a November cease-fire deal. Israel has already concluded that more than 40 of the remaining hostages are dead, and there are fears that the number will grow as the war drags on.
The United States has rallied the world behind a proposal for a phased cease-fire in which Hamas would release the remaining captives in return for a lasting cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. But Hamas wants guarantees from mediators that the war will end, while Israel wants the freedom to resume fighting if talks over releasing the last batch of hostages drag on.
Israel continues to battle pockets of the Hamas group across Gaza after months of heavy bombing and ground operations that have devastated the territory's main cities and displaced most of its population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times. On Sunday, Israel issued new evacuation orders for parts of Gaza City, which was heavily bombed and largely emptied early in the war.
Bodies found with hands tied The Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis said the bodies of three Palestinians were retrieved from the area of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel. A hospital statement said they were handcuffed, and an Associated Press reporter saw one of the bodies with bound hands.
Abdel-Hadi Ghabaeen, an uncle of one of the deceased, said they had been working to secure the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial shipments through the crossing. He said he saw soldiers detain them on Saturday, and that the bodies bore signs of beatings, with one having a broken leg.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.
Thousands of Palestinians have been detained since the start of the war, and many of those who have been released, as well as some Israelis who have worked at detention facilities, say detainees have been tortured and held under harsh conditions. Israeli authorities have denied abusing prisoners.
Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Sunday meanwhile killed at least 13 Palestinians, including the undersecretary of labor in the largely dismantled Hamas-run government.
Ihab al-Ghussein was among four people killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, according to the Civil Defense, a first responders group under the Hamas-run government. Hamas mourned his loss in a statement and said a strike earlier in the war had destroyed his house and killed his wife and daughter.
The Israeli military said it had struck a Hamas complex “in the area of a school building,” as well as a nearby Hamas weapons-making facility in Gaza City after taking steps to mitigate harm to civilians.
The military separately announced that one of its officers was killed in battle in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, bringing the total number of Israeli soldiers killed to 680 since the start of the war.
Israel trades fire with Hezbollah
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said early Sunday that it launched dozens of projectiles toward northern Israel, targeting areas more than 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, deeper than most launches. A 28-year-old man was seriously wounded, Israel’s national rescue service reported.
Another attack near the border wounded three people, one of them seriously, according to the Galilee Medical Center. Israeli media reported that the critically wounded individual was an American citizen. There was no immediate confirmation from the army.
Hezbollah began launching rocket and mortar attacks after the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The range and severity of the attacks and Israel's counterstrikes have escalated in recent weeks, raising fears of an all-out war that would have catastrophic consequences for people on both sides of the border.
Mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar have intensified their efforts in the past week to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas. Hezbollah has said it will halt its attacks if there is a cease-fire in Gaza.
The compromise on Saturday by Hamas could lead to the first pause in fighting since November and set the stage for further talks, though all sides still warned that a deal is not yet guaranteed.
Washington’s phased deal would start with a “full and complete” six-week cease-fire during which older, sick and female hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. During those 42 days, Israeli forces would withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza.
War-weary Palestinians in the Gaza Strip appeared pessimistic, after previous instances in which the two sides appeared to be closing in on a deal.
“We have lived nine months of suffering,” said Heba Radi, a mother of six children living in a tent in the central city of Deir al-Balah, where she has been sheltering since they fled their home in Gaza City. “The cease-fire has become a distant dream.”

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Arab World

Khalil al-Hayya: Hamas’ Unexpected Leader at a Turning Point

Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya (File photo/AP)
Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya (File photo/AP)
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Khalil al-Hayya: Hamas’ Unexpected Leader at a Turning Point

Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya (File photo/AP)
Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya (File photo/AP)

Before Oct. 7, 2023, Khalil al-Hayya, now about 65, was a prominent figure in Hamas. But few inside or outside the movement saw him as a leading contender for its top job.

“Al-Aqsa Flood” changed that.

The attack reshaped the roles and fortunes of Hamas leaders, along with Gaza and the landscape beyond it. Hayya now heads the movement’s political bureau, steering it through one of the most sensitive turning points in its history.

His victory over Khaled Meshaal, a former Hamas leader and one of its best-known figures, was announced in July. It surprised some outside the movement. Others inside had seen it coming, as leaders from Gaza tightened their hold on key portfolios and senior posts.

When “Al-Aqsa Flood” began, Hayya was deputy to Hamas’ Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar. He handled contacts with Palestinian factions, UN bodies and mediators over conditions in Gaza and its recurring rounds of escalation with Israel.

Hayya first rose to prominence when Hamas contested the 2006 parliamentary election, before seizing military control of Gaza in 2007.

He moved through leadership posts in Gaza City, then across the territory, before joining the movement’s wider leadership. Along the way, he drew sustained support from commanders of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, including Ahmed al-Jaabari and Izz al-Din al-Haddad.

Where was he — and what did he know?

Before the Oct. 7 attack, Sinwar asked Hayya and other members of Hamas’ Gaza political bureau to leave the territory to handle specific matters abroad. None knew the full extent of his plans.

Hamas sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hayya knew more about some aspects of the attack than other political bureau members.

“But his information was neither complete nor precise. Only Sinwar knew the full details, while commanders in the military wing knew specific elements of the attack,” one source said.

In an interview published in April 2024 by the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Information Center, Hayya said “the Oct. 7 attacks that ignited the Gaza war were intended to be a limited operation by Hamas to capture a number of soldiers and exchange them for Palestinian prisoners.”

“The Gaza Division of the Zionist army collapsed completely,” he added, referring to the Israeli military.

A senior Hamas source abroad told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hayya knew a relatively large-scale attack was being prepared, but did not know its timing or all its details.

“He was among the leaders who voted in favor of the attack. But everyone who voted believed it would be a limited operation, including Ismail Haniyeh, who was then head of the political bureau,” the source said.

Haniyeh was preparing to travel from Türkiye to Iraq with Hayya, Meshaal and other leaders on their first visit to the country.

Personal losses, a depleted leadership

The bloodshed since Oct. 7 has reached deep into Hayya’s family. Three years of fierce Israeli war have inflicted devastating losses on Gaza — and on Hayya, even while he was abroad.

In May, he mourned his son Azzam, following the death of another son, Hammam, in September. Israel killed them in separate attacks. Two other sons, Hamza and Osama, were killed by Israel in 2008 and 2014, respectively.

A Hamas source inside Gaza said repeated Israeli attacks on Hayya’s home, and the killing of several of his sons, particularly during the latest war, had strengthened his standing and positioned him to lead the movement ahead of other longstanding figures.

Another Hamas source pointed to the gaps left by the killing or absence of senior leaders.

“The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and Saleh al-Arouri, then Yahya Sinwar’s unexpected death in fighting inside Gaza, the assassination of figures such as Rawhi Mushtaha and Osama al-Mazini, and the absence of others for health reasons, including Mahmoud al-Zahar — all of this made Hayya the most prominent figure available to take on responsibility,” the source said.

Leaders from Gaza also held key posts in the political bureau and Shura Council, the source added.

“This does not diminish Hayya’s own standing. He proved his ability to lead and shoulder responsibility in the many portfolios and posts he held,” the source said.

“He became very close to Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, and later when he joined him abroad. He also faced previous assassination attempts, most notably in Doha in September 2025, while reviewing a US ceasefire proposal with other leaders.”

Hayya’s consistent backing for Sinwar’s plans, inside and outside the movement, also broadened his support, the source said — particularly among Sinwar’s close associates and supporters, and the leadership of the Qassam Brigades.

The Qassam leadership in Gaza backed Hayya for the top job and pushed for his election.

“They saw him as an important choice representing Gaza’s leadership, which they believed should be honored and continue to lead the movement after leading the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ battle and sacrificing its senior leaders,” the source said.

Ties with Iran

Within Hamas and among Palestinian factions, Hayya is known for backing Sinwar’s drive, supported by the Qassam leadership, to rebuild ties with the so-called “axis of resistance,” particularly Iran.

That appears to have been a key factor in his growing influence. He handled contacts with Syria’s former government and visited Damascus to meet Bashar al-Assad in October 2022 — the first visit by a Hamas official since the movement left in 2012 amid mounting popular protests against Assad’s rule.

A senior source from Gaza said the territory’s political and military leaders agreed on the need to restore relations with Iran.

Hayya and Sinwar threw their weight behind renewed ties with Tehran, backed overwhelmingly by the Qassam Brigades’ longstanding leadership, from Mohammed Deif and Mohammed Sinwar to all members of its military council.

Some within Hamas supported the move with reservations, a source abroad said.

“There were voices that backed this step cautiously, given the difficulties the movement had faced in its relationship with Iran at certain times, and demands that it support Iran-aligned parties in other arenas,” the source said.

“The movement rejected this and insisted on the independence of its positions.”

Hayya’s path as Hamas leader is strewn with thorns.

In Gaza, he must work to end the war and confront immense humanitarian pressures after the killing of more than 70,000 people and the occupation of more than 60% of the territory.

That task carries a price. He is negotiating through mediators with Israel, which says it will not compromise on disarming Gaza — a demand that would mark one of the most consequential shifts in Hamas’ history.

Hayya and Hamas face a difficult equation: preserving the movement’s existence and cohesion while confronting the possible loss of its weapons, one of its strongest sources of leverage.

The path to political participation is also obstructed. Hamas would need to abide by the Palestinian Authority’s agreements with Israel, a red line for the movement.

Hayya’s rise was a striking and unexpected shift. His tenure now brings a further test, one likely to determine his own fate and the course of the movement he leads.

Arab World

Stability in Southern Lebanon Tops Agenda for Next Round of Talks with Israel

Smoke rises from Mansouri in southern Lebanon after Israeli detonations on Sept. 28. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Mansouri in southern Lebanon after Israeli detonations on Sept. 28. (Reuters)
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Stability in Southern Lebanon Tops Agenda for Next Round of Talks with Israel

Smoke rises from Mansouri in southern Lebanon after Israeli detonations on Sept. 28. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Mansouri in southern Lebanon after Israeli detonations on Sept. 28. (Reuters)

Preparations for the next round of Lebanese-Israeli talks in Tampa, Florida, have stirred debate in Lebanon: Do they mark a shift from political negotiations over withdrawal and sovereignty to military administration of the south?

Lebanese sources following the talks reject that interpretation, saying the focus is on resolving outstanding military and security issues.

A ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that those issues require decisions and action on the ground before other tracks can advance.

“We have not moved to military administration of the south. Most issues that remain unresolved are military matters on the ground: halting bulldozing, house demolitions, gunfire and combat operations; securing Israeli withdrawal; identifying new model areas; addressing the issue of prisoners; and returning residents to their villages,” the source said.

“These are not political, economic or legal issues for specialists in those fields. We are discussing details on the ground: where withdrawal takes place, where operations stop, how the Lebanese army deploys and which areas residents can return to. It is natural for military personnel to discuss these details.”

Combat operations continue, though at a lower intensity, the source said. Other steps cannot advance seriously until a minimum level of security and stability is achieved.

“How can the Lebanese army deploy without an Israeli withdrawal or an end to gunfire? How can residents return to their villages while demolitions, bulldozing and military operations continue?”

Resolving military issues

The United States is focused at this stage on resolving outstanding military and security issues with Israel, the source said. These include completing the withdrawal, identifying model areas and halting bulldozing, demolitions and gunfire so other issues can move forward.

“This does not mean a military track is replacing the political track,” the source said.

“Negotiations have followed two tracks from the outset, political and military. But progress on political issues has remained closely tied to conditions on the ground. No political process can be built upon without a degree of stability and an effective ceasefire.”

That explains the military and security focus of the current meetings, the source said.

“What is needed is decisions on the ground. That is why this stage involves a meeting focused on military and security matters, to resolve outstanding points through US pressure on Israel.”

The US role, according to the ministerial source, is to press Israel to resolve those issues, rather than establish an alternative military administration for the south.

A shift in direction

Lawmaker Ashraf Rifi sees a broader shift. In his view, the growing military emphasis is more than a temporary technical measure: It reflects a change in how the situation is being managed.

Rifi told Asharq Al-Awsat he expected “a very violent round” of fighting in the south, with escalation potentially concentrated in Rihan, Soujoud and surrounding areas.

“I do not think the escalation will extend to Beirut unless assassinations take place,” he said.

Asked whether negotiations over Israeli withdrawal were giving way to a military approach to managing the south, Rifi said the region was heading toward “military, intelligence and security administration under US supervision.”

The process, he said, had moved beyond negotiating Israeli withdrawal to broader military and security administration of the south. Withdrawal would remain part of that process, under US supervision.

“We have moved from negotiating withdrawal to military, intelligence and security administration of the south under US supervision. This administration naturally includes Israeli withdrawal, but places it within broader arrangements overseen by the United States,” he said.

“The military dimension has come to the fore at this stage,” Rifi added. The arrangements would become clearer as conditions on the ground developed and the anticipated round of fighting ended.

No separate military track

Lebanon’s former ambassador to Washington, Antoine Chedid, disputed that reading. A greater military emphasis, he said, does not change the process or its political authority, given the limits of the Lebanese army’s powers.

“Lebanon has not moved from political negotiations over withdrawal and sovereignty to military negotiations or military administration of the south,” Chedid told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Tampa discussions continue the existing process, he said, even if the venue and participants suggest a military character.

“Tampa is a military hub, but that does not mean Lebanon has entered military negotiations with Israel,” he said.

“The Lebanese army implements decisions made by the government, the political authorities and the president. It cannot independently enter military negotiations with the Israelis, even under US mediation, or make decisions that fall within the authority of Lebanon’s political leadership.”

The talks, Chedid said, continue the political framework and discussions that began in Washington and Rome.

“The Tampa talks are not strictly military discussions. They are a continuation of the political framework and the discussions that began in Washington and Rome, but in a different format. The venue and those present may give the impression of military negotiations.”

“The Lebanese army cannot decide in Tampa on matters that fall within the authority of Lebanon’s political leadership,” he added.

“The army operates under political authority, as it should. I therefore do not see what is happening in Tampa as a shift to a separate military track.”

Arab World

Yemen Armed Forces Advance in Taiz, Coalition Carries out Operation to Protect Marine Navigation

This image taken from undated video released Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, by the Yemeni government-allied Southern Giants Brigades media office shows its fighters firing a weapon mounted on a pickup truck during clashes with the Iran-backed Houthi group in Dhubab district, Taiz, Yemen. (Southern Giants Brigades Media Office via AP)
This image taken from undated video released Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, by the Yemeni government-allied Southern Giants Brigades media office shows its fighters firing a weapon mounted on a pickup truck during clashes with the Iran-backed Houthi group in Dhubab district, Taiz, Yemen. (Southern Giants Brigades Media Office via AP)
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Yemen Armed Forces Advance in Taiz, Coalition Carries out Operation to Protect Marine Navigation

This image taken from undated video released Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, by the Yemeni government-allied Southern Giants Brigades media office shows its fighters firing a weapon mounted on a pickup truck during clashes with the Iran-backed Houthi group in Dhubab district, Taiz, Yemen. (Southern Giants Brigades Media Office via AP)
This image taken from undated video released Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, by the Yemeni government-allied Southern Giants Brigades media office shows its fighters firing a weapon mounted on a pickup truck during clashes with the Iran-backed Houthi group in Dhubab district, Taiz, Yemen. (Southern Giants Brigades Media Office via AP)

The Yemeni army announced on Tuesday that it has seized control of new positions in the Haifan district, south of the Taiz province, as battles continued to rage across several of the province's frontlines.

Meanwhile, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced that its naval forces carried out a military operation in the Hodeidah province as part of its objectives to protect the security of maritime navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said that a plot for imminent attacks targeting waterways in the southern Red Sea had been thwarted, confirming the destruction of weapons depots, warehouses for booby-trapped boats, and naval mines.

Later, the Coalition announced the destruction of a ballistic missile launched in Sanaa, as well as a warehouse in a mountain storing 20 missiles in Saada.

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman had said that the meeting of the Strategic-Political and Defense Committee of the Makkah Alliance for Defense reaffirmed the solidarity of its member states and their unified stance in confronting attacks against Saudi Arabia and holy sites.

The meeting underscored the activation of collective deterrence against these attacks and anyone behind them within the framework of the alliance, he added.

The committee decided to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defense commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom, in line with the approved arrangements and the national legislation of the parties, thereby boosting readiness, military integration, and the collective capacity to confront and counter threats.