The global games industry gathers for the vast Gamescom trade fair in Cologne this week, with hopes that upcoming heavy-hitters like “GTA VI” can help the industry escape its doldrums.Tuesday’s opening night event will show off major releases slated for the months ahead, with the starring role going to “Black Ops 7” — the new …
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Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered on Sunday evening in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages, one of the largest demonstrations in Israel since the start of the fighting in October 2023.The rally was the culmination of a day of nationwide protests and a general strike to pressure the government to halt the military campaign.”Bring them all home! Stop the war!” shouted the vast crowd which had converged on the so-called “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv plaza — a focal point for protesters throughout the war.The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the initiator of the day of protest, estimated that about 500,000 people joined the evening demonstration in Tel Aviv — a figure not confirmed by the police.”We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war. We demand what is rightfully ours — our children,” said Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and a leading figure of the protest movement. “The Israeli government has transformed a just war into a pointless war,” she told the crowd.National media published a video message by Matan Zangauker on Sunday, in which the hostage, weak and emaciated, addressed his family and told them he missed them. The video was filmed by Hamas and found in Gaza by the army, the family said.”This is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages,” demonstrator Ofir Penso, 50, told AFP.- A day of protests -The protests come more than a week after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, 22 months into a war that has created a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group vowed Sunday that protesters would “shut down the country” with the goal of bringing back the hostages and ending the war.Throughout the country, demonstrators blocked traffic arteries, set tyres on fire and clashed with the police. More than 30 protesters were arrested, law enforcement said.In many places, though, AFP journalists saw businesses carrying on unimpeded.In Jerusalem’s main shopping district, it was business as usual.A shop assistant in the city centre said the owner supported the campaign for the hostages’ return but chose not to participate in the strike.”Everyone is helping the way they can,” she said, declining to give her name.Netanyahu slammed the protesters, saying their actions “not only harden Hamas’s position and draw out the release of our hostages, but also ensure that the horrors of October 7 will reoccur”.Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce deal that includes hostages being released, after the last round of talks in Qatar ended without a breakthrough.Some Israeli government members who oppose any deal with Hamas slammed Sunday’s demonstrations.Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decried “a perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas” and calls for “surrender”.However, Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, condemned the government for “attacking the families of the hostages” while “bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years”.- Famine warnings -The Israeli plan to expand the war into Gaza City and nearby refugee camps has sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.On Sunday, Israeli military chief of staff Lieutenant General Eya Zamir said the army was moving ahead with a plan “focusing on Gaza City”.Hamas warned it would result in “a new wave of extermination and mass displacement”.Army Radio said residents would be evacuated before troops encircled and seized Gaza City in the coming weeks, with tens of thousands of reservists called up.UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has heavily limited the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire on Sunday killed over sixty Palestinians, including at least 37 waiting to collect food aid near two sites.The conflict began with Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, during which 251 people were taken hostage. Forty-nine captives remain in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Hamas’s assault resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,944 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
Clutching pictures of hostages, waving yellow flags, banging on snare drums and shouting chants to bring captive Israelis home, tens of thousands took to Tel Aviv’s streets Sunday to call for an end to the war in Gaza.”We’re here to make it very clear to the Israeli government that this is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages that are being held in the Hamas tunnels for almost 700 days,” Ofir Penso, a 50-year-old Arabic teacher, told AFP.Demonstrations have been held regularly through most of the 22 months of war in the wake of the Hamas attacks in 2023, but Sunday’s protests appeared to be one of the largest yet.The renewed energy of the movement came with the government deciding just over a week ago to seize Gaza City and nearby camps in a new offensive.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to conquer the most populated swathes of the Gaza Strip has triggered an international backlash while aid agencies and UN experts have warned of unfolding famine in the territory.Recent video footage released by Palestinian militants showed hostages heavily emaciated and pale — spurring fears that the captives’ health is more fragile than ever.Many in the crowd wore makeshift patches on their shirts made with pieces of tape with the number 681 — the number of days the hostages have been held captive in Gaza — scrawled in marker pen.Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 27 the Israeli military has said are dead.- ‘Enough is enough’ -Snaking along downtown streets, shadowed by glass towers, the crowd converged on Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square — the focal point of movement.”The Israeli government has never offered a genuine initiative for a comprehensive agreement and an end to the war,” Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is being held captive in Gaza, told the crowd.”We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war. We demand what is rightfully ours -– our children.”The war has also touched on other frustrations for many who took to the streets.”The whole country is fighting with each other, our image around the world has completely changed, worse than it ever was, and enough is enough,” Nick, a 31-year-old tech worker, told AFP, asking not to use his last name.Others worried about the fate of their own children enlisted in the Israeli military who had been sent to Gaza and feared that they might soon be recalled to fight.”We are hoping and praying that our government will hear us and listen to us,” said Ella Kaufman from Kadima Zoran, who has two sons serving as officers in the Israeli army.”I’m also a concerned mother.”While thousands took to the streets, there were others in Tel Aviv who hoped for an end to the war but in different circumstances.”No, I won’t be protesting against Bibi, because I think that he has to finish the work, he has to finish the war,” said Patrick Menache, a 69-year-old real estate investor in Tel Aviv, using a common nickname for Netanyahu.Nevertheless, he admitted the war had taken a toll.”Everybody is tired, the hostages are tired, the families are tired, the Palestinians are tired, everybody is tired.”
Demonstrators across Israel called on Sunday for an end to the Gaza war and a deal to release hostages still held by militants, a push sharply criticised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.The protests come more than a week after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to capture Gaza City, 22 months into a war that has created dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory.The war was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 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 portraits of the remaining captives was unfurled in Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostage Square — which has been a focal point for protests throughout the war.”This is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages,” demonstrator Ofir Penso, 50, told AFP as thousands gathered in downtown Tel Aviv ahead of a night of protests.”Israelis are not all alike. There is a substantial part… that opposes the official policy,” he added amid the crowd of protesters, some of them carrying flags emblazoned with “681”, the number of days hostages have been held in Gaza.Demonstrators also blocked roads, including the highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where they set tyres on fire, according to Israeli media footage.The police said more than 30 protesters were arrested for disturbing public order.Organisers also called for a general strike on Sunday — the first day of the working week in Israel.Nentanyahu slammed the protesters, saying their actions “not only harden Hamas’s position and draw out the release of our hostages, but also ensure that the horrors of October 7 will reoccur”.- ‘Shut down the country’ -The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said protesters would “shut down the country today (Sunday) with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war”.Their tally includes a soldier killed in a 2014 war whose remains are held by Hamas.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.”If we don’t bring them back now -– we will lose them forever,” the forum said.Egypt said in recent days mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce deal that would include hostages being released, after the last round of talks in Qatar ended without a breakthrough.Some Israeli government members who oppose any deal with Hamas slammed Sunday’s demonstrations.Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decried “a perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas” and calls for “surrender”.Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, condemned the government “attacking the families of the hostages” while “bearing responsibility for the captivity of their children by Hamas for nearly two years”.AFPTV footage showed protesters at a rally in Beeri, a kibbutz near the Gaza border that was one of the hardest-hit communities in the Hamas attack, and Israeli media reported protests in numerous locations across the country.- Famine warnings -The Israeli plans to expand the war into Gaza City and nearby refugee camps have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.Chief of staff Lieutenant General Eya Zamir said on Sunday that the military was “approving the plan for the next phase of the war”.”We will maintain the momentum of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ while focusing on Gaza City. We will continue to strike until the decisive defeat of Hamas,” he said, referring to a major offensive launched in May.In response Hamas said the plans would result in “a new wave of extermination and mass displacement”.According to an Army Radio report, the plan includes residents of Gaza City being evacuated before troops encircled and seize the city, beginning “in the coming weeks”.Tens of thousands of reserve soldiers would be called up for the mission, the report added.Israel on Saturday said it was preparing “to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection”.UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire on Sunday killed at least seven Palestinians waiting to collect food aid near two sites.Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,944 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
The streets of Tehran have become a confusing maze for driver Farshad Fooladi amid widespread GPS disruption, still ongoing nearly two months after the end of Iran and Israel’s unprecedented 12-day war.”For weeks I have been unable to work,” said Fooladi, who uses Iran’s homegrown ride-hailing app Snapp to find customers. “Most of the time was wasted wandering around aimlessly,” the 35-year-old Iranian driver added. Unprecedented disruption has plagued users of GPS, which stands for Global Positioning System, in Iran since Israel’s surprise attack in mid-June which triggered a deadly 12-day war. Iran’s communications ministry has said the disruptions were necessary for “security and military purposes”, without giving further explanation.Missiles, drones and rockets often use GPS or other similar technologies, which involve triangulating signals from multiple satellites, to find their targets.Iran has long employed GPS jamming and spoofing around sensitive military sites but the recent disruptions have been the most sustained and widespread.It remains unclear how long the measures will last or how much damage they have caused to Iranian businesses. Ride-hailing apps, delivery platforms, and even basic mapping services like Google Maps and its Iranian equivalent Neshan have buckled under the interference. In many areas, especially around Tehran, users often spot themselves on the maps hundreds of kilometres away from their actual locations. “To get around, you either need a sharp memory for routes or already know the city well,” Fooladi said.But the driver, originally from the western Lorestan province and less familiar with the capital’s winding backstreets, frequently finds himself running into dead ends. “I only pick up passengers who know the directions, ” he said, adding the strategy had severely cut his income.- ‘Collateral damage’ -In early August, the chief executive of the Neshan mapping app, Javad Amel, said in a video interview that daily disruptions through GPS spoofing had been ongoing for years, especially in Tehran. But he explained in recent weeks that Neshan’s daily active users “had dropped by 15 percent, while navigation activity on the app fell by 20 percent”. The continued disruption has heightened fears of a deepening economic crisis among Iranians.The Islamic republic’s economy is already struggling under the weight of decades of international sanctions and mismanagement, compounded by the revival of US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign earlier this year. Nuclear talks with Washington, which began in April, have also stalled since the United States joined its ally Israel to strike Iranian nuclear sites in June. “This war has upended our lives and frozen our future plans,” said Fooladi. In a report last week, the Khabar Online news agency warned against the disruption of GPS, saying it caused “collateral damage” to the digital economy and public safety, including delays to emergency services.Former communications minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi argued the disruption was costly and would likely have limited defensive results.”Drone manufacturers and operators are not stupid either. If the GPS is disrupted and another positioning system replaces it, they will also use the new system,” Jahromi said according to his Telegram channel. – ‘Unclear future’ -With the significant impact on civilian lives, deputy communications minister Ehsan Chitsaz suggested that Iran could consider alternatives to GPS.”Disruptions are created by domestic systems on GPS, and this has pushed us toward alternative options such as BeiDou,” he told Iranian daily Ham Mihan in July. The Chinese satellite system BeiDou, fully operational since 2020, is emerging as a global rival to the US-built and operated GPS.Chitsaz said Iran was “drafting a program” so some of the country’s location-based services for transport, agriculture could “gradually migrate from GPS to BeiDou”.He acknowledged disruptions in Iran, coupled with years-long internet restrictions, have damaged businesses and created “social distrust and despair”.But experts say that replacing GPS would be complex.”Doing so would require extensive and costly infrastructure changes,” said Amir Rashidi of the US-based Miaan group, adding that Iran is currently “highly vulnerable in cyberspace”. Many in Iran believe that another confrontation with Israel is on the horizon as Israel and the United States continue to threaten attacks if Iran restarts its nuclear programme, which has been on hold since the war. “Everything is uncertain, and we can’t plan. The future is unclear,” said Mohammad Hossein Ghanbari, a 32-year-old Snapp driver.”We don’t know whether the war will break out again or what will happen next.”
