What We Covered Today?
- Strikes on hospital: Israel is facing global condemnation after an attack on a Gaza hospital killed 20 people, including five journalists and medical workers. The Israel Defense Forces claimed “six of the individuals killed” in the strikes were terrorists and said an initial inquiry showed the intended target was a camera positioned by Hamas to capture Israeli military activity.
- Protests in Israel: Israelis held a nationwide day of protest on Tuesday, blocking highways and burning tires as they called for a Gaza ceasefire deal that would secure the release of hostages.
- Media under attack: In a letter to senior Israeli officials, AP and Reuters executives have demanded accountability. Israel does not allow international journalists to enter the Gaza Strip to report independently.
Organizers in Israel estimated that hundreds of thousands attended their rally in Tel Aviv as a nationwide “day of struggle” for a hostage deal and ceasefire ended on Tuesday.
“The people of Israel are voting with their feet,” said Noam Peri, whose father was killed in captivity in Gaza, according to the organizer’s statement. “The nation wants this war to end and the hostages brought home.”
Tuesday’s protests came the same day as a meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet. Sources told CNN that the meeting ended without major decisions or any review of the current ceasefire deal. Another meeting on Sunday will review the government’s plan to occupy Gaza City.
“Occupying Gaza is the opposite of the right decision,” said Nira Sharabi, whose husband died a hostage in Gaza, according to the organizer’s statement. “It’s the opposite of reunification, it’s the opposite of an opportunity to end this terrible and long nightmare.”