18/08/2025

MONDAY | AUG 18, 2025

9

Protests across Israel call for end to Gaza war

Women, girls hardest hit by food shortage GAZA CITY: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned on Saturday that at least one million women and girls in the Gaza Strip are facing mass starvation due to Israel’s months-long blockade and war on the enclave. “Women and girls in Gaza are facing mass starvation, violence and abuse. They are being forced to adopt increasingly dangerous survival strategies, such as venturing out in search of food and water at the extreme risk of being killed,” UNRWA said in X. The agency pushed for the lifting of the Gaza blockade and the large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid. Gaza is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in its history, with famine compounding the conflict. Since March 2, Israel has closed all crossings into the territory, blocking aid and pushing the enclave into famine despite thousands of trucks waiting at the border. Only a trickle of supplies has been permitted in. Earlier this month, the UN World Food Programme also warned that one third of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents had gone without food for several days. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice. – Bernama Mozambique, Mondlane said in a live video on social media. The party had tried to register as Anamalala, which means “it’s over” in the local Macau language and was one of the slogans of the violently repressed protests, he said. However, authorities claimed it promoted separatism. – AFP DRONE ATTACK INJURES RUSSIAN RAIL EMPLOYEE MOSCOW: A railway employee was injured and a power line damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack at a station in Russia’s Voronezh region on Saturday. “According to preliminary information, a railway station track technician was injured in one of the municipalities,” regional governor Alexander Gusev said. The attack caused train delays but by yesterday, trains were back on schedule. The Russian Defence Ministry, which reports only how many drones its units destroy but not how many Ukraine launches, said nine drones were downed over the Voronezh region. The ministry said its defence systems destroyed 46 Ukrainian drones in regions west of Moscow. Kyiv says its strikes are in answer to Moscow’s continued attacks. – Reuters NEW MOZAMBIQUE PARTY APPROVED MAPUTO: Mozambique’s main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, announced on Friday that authorities had approved his new political party after a months long dispute over the name. Mondlane upended Mozambique’s political landscape last year when he drew thousands of supporters onto the streets to dispute the results of October elections, afterwards becoming the top opposition figure. The new party is called Anamola, an acronym for the National Alliance for an Autonomous and Free

BR I E F S

o Negotiators renew push for truce

portraits of the remaining captives was unfurled in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, which has long been a focal point for protests throughout the war. Demonstrators also blocked several roads in the city, including the highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where demonstrators set tires on fire and caused traffic jams, according to local media footage. Protest organisers and the main campaign group representing the families of hostages also called for a general strike yesterday – the first day of the week in Israel. In Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, many businesses were shut. “I think it’s time to end the war. It’s time to release all of the hostages. And it’s time to help Israel recover and move towards a more stable Middle East,” said Doron Wilfand, a 54-year-old tour guide, at a rally in Jerusalem. The Hostages and Missing

Families Forum campaign group said in a statement that protesters would “shut down the country today (Sunday) with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war”. Their toll includes a soldier killed in a 2014 war whose remains are held by Hamas. The forum plans to set up a protest tent near the Gaza border, vowing to “escalate our struggle and do everything possible to bring back our beloved ones”. “If we don’t bring them back now, we will lose them forever.” Recent videos released by Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad showing two weak and emaciated captives have heightened concern for the fate of the hostages. Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce that would include hostage release, after the last round of talks in Qatar had ended without a breakthrough.

Viki Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held in Gaza, said in a post on X addressing him: “I hope you have access to the media somewhere in the tunnels, and that you will see how the people of Israel pause life today for you and for the hostages. Stay strong, just a little more.” Speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv, Israeli President Issac Herzog said “we want them back as soon as possible”. Some Israeli government members slammed yesterday’s demonstrations. The Israeli plan to expand the war into Gaza City and nearby refugee camps have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition. Experts have warned of famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of aid it allows in. Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 61,897 Palestinians. – AFP

TEL AVIV: Demonstrators took to the streets across Israel yesterday calling for an end to the war in Gaza and a deal to release hostages, as the military prepares a new offensive. The protests come more than a week after Israel’s security Cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory. The war was triggered by an attack on Oct 27, 2023, during which 251 people were taken hostage. Forty-nine captives remain in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. A huge Israeli flag covered with

Protesters blocking Israel’s main highway connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv near Latrun yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Yemeni power station hit in attack SANAA: The Israeli military said it had targeted a power station that was used by Houthis south of the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday, with Israeli media saying the Haziz power station had been hit. its territory. Israeli media reported earlier that the attack on the Haziz power station near the capital was carried out by the Israeli navy.

resulting fire, Al Masirah reported, citing the deputy prime minister. At least two explosions were heard earlier in Sanaa, residents said. Israel has been bombing Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on Israel. The Yemeni group has been firing missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted, in what they describe as support for Palestinians during the war in Gaza.

The United States and the UK have also previously launched attacks against the Houthis. In May, the US announced a surprise deal with the Houthis in which it agreed to stop a bombing campaign in return for an end to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, although the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel. – Reuters

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said that the power station was hit by an “aggression”, knocking some of its generators out of service. It did not indicate the source of the attack. Teams were able to contain a

The military said in a statement that the strikes were in response to repeated attacks by the Houthis against Israel, including launching missiles and drones towards