Key events
Families are demanding the Israeli government enter an agreement with Hamas to end the war and secure the release of the hostages still held in Gaza. Major roads, including Route 1 and Route 443, both of which connect Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, were closed on Tuesday by the protests.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has accused “left-wing” governments of trying to “force” Palestinian state on to Israel.
During his first official visit to the US since taking office last year, he said at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in New York that the move would amount to “suicide”.
As Times of Israel reports, he said: “Left-wing governments in various countries, including France, Britain, Canada, and Australia, are trying to force a Palestinian state on Israel.”
“Israel cannot allow this. For us, it would be an act of suicide,” he says, then accusing western capitals of “trying to build momentum” through their recently announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
Elsewhere in the briefing, Sa’ar also said that Israel stands in a strategically better than it did two years ago, from a military standpoint. He also noted “the Iranian axis that militarily surrounded Israel has been greatly weakened.”
“What was once a military siege is now turning into an attempt at a political siege of the State of Israel, with a clear goal: to force a Palestinian state upon us,” he added.
Here are some of the latest images from Gaza:
All roads across Israel have now reopened after a morning of protests, according to local police.
A statement from police said: “Freedom of protest and expression is not freedom to harm many others’ freedom of movement.
“Blocking roads without permission and in a manner that may endanger road users or harm citizens’ freedom of movement will not be allowed.”
This comes after there was a planned national “day of struggle”, planned by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in hopes of securing a deal to free the captured. The day began at 6.29am, the time Hamas launched its 7 October attack, and saw protesters close down highways and block pavements outside politician’s homes.
Major roads were closed across the country, including sections of Route 1 and Route 443, both of which connect Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Opening summary
Hello, we are restarting our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisis.
The killing of at least 20 people, including five journalists, after Israel struck Nasser hospital in Gaza on Monday (25 August) has sparked international condemnation.
Reuters cameraperson Hussam al-Masri , photographer Mohammed Salama, who worked for Al Jazeera, and NBC’s Moaz Abu Taha were among those killed.
Victims on the fourth floor of the hospital were killed in a double-tap strike with one missile hitting first. Another strike hit as rescuers began to arrive, according to health officials.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office claimed the strike was a “tragic mishap” – and said that the military will investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, Canada said it is “horrified” by the Israeli strikes on Nasser hospital, with the foreign ministry posting on X saying “Israel has the obligation to protect civilians, including journalists and healthcare workers, operating in Gaza.
“Canada urges an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the protection of civilians, the unconditional release of the remaining hostages, and scaled-up UN-led humanitarian aid which can pass freely to those in need.”
This comes as mass protests are being planned in Tel Aviv, as the The Hostages and Missing Families Forum are lead a national “day of struggle” today (26 August) with the aim of securing a hostage release deal.
The Times of Israel reports that protesters have blocked highways, with some pitched outside the homes of government ministers. In Ness Ziona, people are reading out the names of the hostages outside the home of foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar.
Elsewhere, demonstrators block pavement outside the home of economy minister Nir Barkat with long strings of hostage posters.
Relatives of the captured gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to deliver speeches for the day’s press conference. “We have a wonderful people but no government … The government has abandoned, but the people will bring them back!” said Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker, Al Jazeera reports.
In other developments:
-
Amnesty International says the Israeli military destruction of civilian property in southern Lebanon should be investigated as a war crime, AFP reports. “The Israeli military’s extensive and deliberate destruction of civilian property and agricultural land across southern Lebanon must be investigated as war crimes,” Amnesty’s statement reads.
-
Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese has accused Iran of being behind a pair of 2024 antisemitic attacks. At a press conference in Canberra, Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) “has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion that the Iranian government directed” at least two of the recent attacks on Australia’s Jewish community.
-
Australia has now announced it will suspend Tehran’s ambassador and is pulling diplomats from Iran. It also plans to pass legislation to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror group.
Comment ×