Israelis block Tel Aviv highway in protest

More than 50 protesters blocked the southbound lane of the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv. Their main demand is to reach an agreement to release all hostages held in Gaza and to end the war in Gaza. The protesters were carrying a banner that read, “Release the hostages and end the war in Gaza.” Meanwhile, Hamas claims that they have the full right to resist Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. They will not lay down their arms until an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially over the famine in Gaza. Although Netanyahu denies the famine, the situation has upset Trump. Trump wants regional peace and is keen to secure recognition, such as a Nobel Peace Prize. He wants Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel. But Riyadh has made clear that this is not possible without an irreversible roadmap for the creation of a Palestinian state. Recent moves by France, Britain and Canada – though largely symbolic – have increasingly alienated Washington from its support for Israel. The creation of a Palestinian state could bring an end to the two-year war in Gaza, where more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in response to Hamas’s October 7 offensive.