Protesters in Israel demand hostage release, end to Gaza war

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington on Wednesday, the US State Department announced late Tuesday.

The meeting comes amid rising pressure on the Trump administration to press Israel over the killing of journalists in Gaza.

The Israeli army said its initial inquiry into the strike at the Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip suggests soldiers had identified a camera which, according to the army, was positioned at the hospital by Hamas to observe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activities. 

According to an IDF statement, the soldiers decided to act against the camera, adding that while six of those killed were "terrorists," the military "regrets" any harm caused to civilians. Israel's claims cannot be independently verified, and the targeting of hospitals is a crime under international law.

The 'double-tap' strikes — in which journalists and aid workers were killed in a second blast after responding to the first — was condemned internationally, including by some of Israel's closest allies.

Human rights groups have accused Israel of spreading disinformation to justify the killings of civilians, journalists and aid workers in Gaza. A report by the monitoring group Action on Armed Violence, published this month, found that Israel closes down or leaves unresolved 88% of cases of alleged war crimes. 

An open letter signed by 209 former EU and member state ambassadors and staff has called for the immediate implementation of EU measures against Israel over what they said were its "unlawful actions in Gaza and the West Bank."

The letter called for the implementation of nine proposed EU actions against the Israeli government.

Among these proposals are the unilateral suspension or revocation of arms export licenses to Israel and the halting of funding of national co-financed projects involving Israeli entities.

The letter called for the enforcement of sanctions on human rights grounds and counter-terrorism laws which would include visa bans and asset freezes.

The letter, addressed to leaders of the 27 EU member states and leadership structures of the European Commission, among others, followed another open letter sent late in July.

"We note with dismay that, in the ensuing four weeks since our letter, no ceasefire has been agreed in Gaza, no Israeli hostages have been released, and, alarmingly, the Israeli government has begun implementing plans to empty Gaza City and its environs," the joint letter said.

The former diplomats noted that since the previous open communication, more than 2,600 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza, many of them women and children.

"Compounding the totally inadequate humanitarian access to Gaza, the Israeli government has continued to prevent UNRWA and 100 international NGOs from delivering any aid since 2 March," the letter stated.

"We express our profound disappointment that, in response to the deteriorating situation in Gaza, no substantive measures have been taken by the EU to pressure Israel to end its brutal war," the letter said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he doesn't think journalists were intentionally targeted when Israel struck a hospital in Gaza on Monday, that left at least 20 people dead, including medics and journalists.

"Right now I do not believe that this was a targeted attack on journalists," Merz told DW's chief political editor Michaela Kuefner in Berlin.

"But this is, of course, a result of what the Israeli army started a few days ago and of what the Israeli government decided to do," Merz said. 

The German leader said that his decision to suspend the license of new arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza, was the right one.

"I feel that my decision that under these conditions, Israel should not receive weapons that will be used in the Gaza Strip has now been more than proved to be the right one," Merz pointed out.

The German went on to say that the current actions of Israel in Gaza were "unacceptable."

"What the Israeli government is doing there and what the Israeli army is doing in carrying out the Israeli government's wishes is unacceptable, and yesterday's events cast a dark shadow over what is otherwise, in every sense, a justified course of action against Hamas," Merz said.

The spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed al-Ansari, said that mediators are awaiting Israel's response to a ceasefire proposal, agreed to by the Hamas militant group last week.

"What matters is not the venue, but that an agreement is reached now. There is already an offer on the table Israel must respond," al-Ansari told a media briefing.

"Attempts to stall by shifting locations or other tactics are clear to the international community, and it is time for Israel to give a serious answer to what it has already agreed to in the past," al-Ansari said.    

The latest proposal put forward by mediators involves an initial 60-day truce and staggered exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

As mediators awaited Israel's response to the new proposal last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had given instructions for new negotiations seeking "the release of all our hostages and the end of the war under conditions acceptable to Israel."

In Tel Aviv, protests are again erupting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Demonstrators accuse him of rejecting peace deals to serve his own political ends, while Gaza mourns the 20 dead killed in airstrikes on a hospital in Khan Younis.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that his government had expelled Iranian Ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi and three other embassy employees for their involvement in antisemitic crimes.

Albanese said not all antisemitic crimes in the country could be tied back to Iran, but noted that Australia's Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had found that Iran had coordinated attacks.

Albanese also announced that, in response to the hostile behavior, Australia would close its embassy in Tehran.

Read more about why Australia expelled Iranian diplomats and the Iranian reaction.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany will not be among Western allies recognizing a Palestinian state, at least for now.

“We will not be joining this initiative,” Merz said in a joint press conference with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"We do not consider the conditions for state recognition to be fulfilled in any way at present," Merz said.

Carney announced in July that his country would recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September. French President Emmanuel Macron has said his country plans to do the same.

Germany supports a two-state solution and sees recognizing a Palestinian state as a final step toward peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Committee to Protect Journalists chief executive Jodie Ginsberg tells DW that Israel is trying to control the narrative in Gaza, after journalists were killed in a strike on Nasser Hospital on Monday.

Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry said that 20 people were killed in the strikes, which have been widely condemned.

Christian leaders in Jerusalem have expressed serious concern over the Israeli government's planned takeover of Gaza City.

The Greek Orthodox Church of St Porphyrius and the Catholic Church of the Holy Family — both located in Gaza City — issued a joint message on Tuesday.

"Many of those who have sought refuge within the walls of the compounds are weakened and malnourished by the hardships of recent months," the statement from the church leaders said. "Leaving the city of Gaza and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence."

Both the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates in Jerusalem have been places of refuge for civilians, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The religious leaders said it was "time to end this spiral of violence, put an end to the war and prioritize the common good of the people."

"It is with great urgency that we appeal to the international community to work towards an end to this senseless and destructive war and the return of the missing and the Israeli hostages," the statement added.

Tuesday morning saw protesters and activists take to the streets in parts of Israel with calls for the immediate release of remaining hostages and end the fighting in Gaza.

A main highway near Tel Aviv was blocked and protesters set fire to tyres on a route north of the city according to news agencies.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has called for a day of action under the slogan "Israel stands together."

Israeli media also reported rallies near a US embassy branch in the city, as well as outside the houses of various ministers across the country.

"There is an offer on the table. We demand that our leaders sit at the negotiation table and not get up until there is an agreement," said Hagit Chen, whose son was abducted by militants in October 2023, according to a statement released by a forum representing the families of hostages. 

Activists have also called for the Israeli government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week ordered immediate talks aimed at securing the release of all remaining captives in Gaza, while also doubling down on the plans for a new offensive to seize Gaza's largest city.

A total of 50 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Tuesday has so far seen protests in parts of Israel with demands for the remaining hostages in Gaza and for an end to the war.

A total of 50 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

This comes amid continued condemnation of Israel's airstrikes on Nasser Hospital on Monday, which killed at least 20 people, including five journalists.

We'll be covering reactions to all of this, along with other developments from across the Middle East, right here in this blog.