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Thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday to call for an end to the war in Gaza, a day after the Israeli government vowed to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City.Demonstrators waved signs and held up pictures of hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory as they called on the government to secure their release. AFP journalists at the rally estimated the number of attendees to be in the tens of thousands, while a group representing the families of hostages said as many as 100,000 people participated. Authorities did not provide an official estimate for the size of the crowd, though it dwarfed other recent anti-war rallies. “We will end with a direct message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: if you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place,” Shahar Mor Zahiro, the relative of a slain hostage, told AFP.On Friday, Netanyahu’s security cabinet greenlighted plans for a major operation to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of domestic and international criticism.Foreign powers, including some of Israel’s allies, have been pushing for a negotiated ceasefire to secure the hostages’ return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the Strip. Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision.  In a post on social media late Friday, Netanyahu said “we are not going to occupy Gaza — we are going to free Gaza from Hamas”.The premier has faced regular protests over the course of 22 months of war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a deal after past truces saw hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.- ‘A new crime’ -The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday lambasted Israel’s plan to expand its operations in Gaza.According to a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, PA president Mahmud Abbas said the plan “constitutes a new crime”, and stressed “the urgent need to take action to stop it immediately”.He also emphasised “the importance of enabling the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip”.In the same meeting that approved the Gaza City plan, the security cabinet adopted a set of principles for ending the war in Gaza that included establishing a new “administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority”.The PA, conceived as a first step towards a Palestinian state, exercises limited administration over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but does not have a presence in Hamas-run Gaza.A statement issued Saturday by the foreign ministers of Italy, Australia, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom again criticised the decision to occupy Gaza City. “This will exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of hostages, and increase the risk of a mass exodus of civilians,” they said. Russia also condemned the Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City in a statement Saturday.Implementing such plans “risks worsening the already dramatic situation in the Palestinian enclave, which shows all the signs of a humanitarian disaster”, said a foreign ministry statement.Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 37 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory on Saturday, including 30 civilians who were waiting to collect aid. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel — which triggered the war — resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Police in London arrested at least 365 people Saturday for supporting Palestine Action, at the latest and largest protest backing the group since the government banned it last month under anti-terror laws.The Metropolitan Police said it made the hundreds of arrests, thought to be one of the highest ever at a single protest in the UK capital, for “supporting a proscribed organisation”.It also arrested seven for other offences including assaults on officers, though none were seriously injured, it added.The government outlawed Palestine Action in early July days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage to two aircraft.The group said its activists were responding to Britain’s indirect military support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.Britain’s interior ministry reiterated ahead of Saturday’s protests that Palestine Action is also suspected of other “serious attacks” that involved “violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage”.But critics, including the United Nations and NGOs like Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have lambasted the move as legal overreach and a threat to free speech.- ‘Unprecedented’ -A group called Defend Our Juries, which organised Saturday’s protests and previous demonstrations against the ban, said “unprecedented numbers” had risked “arrest and possible imprisonment” to “defend this country’s ancient liberties”.”We will keep going. Our numbers are already growing for the next wave of action in September,” it added.Attendees began massing near parliament at lunchtime bearing signs saying “oppose genocide, support Palestine Action” and other slogans, and waving Palestinian flags.Psychotherapist Craig Bell, 39, was among those holding a placard.He branded the ban “absolutely ridiculous”. “When you compare Palestine Action with an actual terrorist group who are killing civilians and taking lives, it’s just a joke that they’re being prescribed a terrorist group,” he told AFP.As police moved in on the demonstrators, they applauded those being arrested and shouted “shame on you” at officers.”Let them arrest us all,” said Richard Bull, 42, a wheelchair-user in attendance.”This government has gone too far. I have nothing to feel ashamed of.”Defend Our Juries had claimed only a “fraction” of the hundreds who turned out had been detained, but the Met insisted that “simply isn’t true” and that all those showing support for Palestine Action would be arrested.The London force noted some of those there were onlookers or not visibly supporting the group.- NGOs opposed -The Met also detailed how the hundreds arrested were taken to temporary “prisoner processing” points, where their details were confirmed and they were either instantly bailed or taken into custody elsewhere.Police forces across the UK have made scores of similar arrests since the government outlawed Palestine Action on July 5, making being a member or supporting the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.Police announced this week that the first three people had been charged in the English and Welsh criminal justice system with supporting Palestine Action following their arrests at a July 5 demo.Seven people have so far been charged in Scotland, which has a separate legal system.Amnesty International UK Chief Executive Sacha Deshmukh wrote to Met Police chief Mark Rowley this week urging restraint be exercised when policing people holding placards expressing support for Palestine Action.The NGO has argued arrests of such people are in breach of international human rights law.A UK court challenge against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action will be heard later this year.

Police in London arrested at least 200 people Saturday for supporting Palestine Action at the latest and largest protest backing the group since the government banned it last month under anti-terror laws.The UK capital’s Metropolitan Police said it expected to make further arrests at the demonstration in Parliament Square, as organisers claimed only a “fraction” of the hundreds who turned out had been detained.”That claim simply isn’t true,” the Met said in a statement, noting some of those there were onlookers or not visibly supporting Palestine Action. “We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested.”The government banned the group days after several of its activists broke into an air force base in southern England, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage to two aircraft.Britain’s interior ministry reiterated ahead of Saturday’s protests that its members were also suspected of other “serious attacks” that involved “violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage”.But critics, including the United Nations and NGOs like Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have lambasted the move as legal overreach and a threat to free speech.- ‘Unprecedented’ -A group called Defend our Juries, which organised Saturday’s protests and previous demonstrations against the ban, said “unprecedented numbers” had risked “arrest and possible imprisonment” to “defend this country’s ancient liberties”.”We will keep going. Our numbers are already growing for the next wave of action in September,” it added.Attendees began massing near parliament at lunchtime bearing signs saying “oppose genocide, support Palestine Action” and other slogans, and waving Palestinian flags.Psychotherapist Craig Bell, 39, was among those holding a placard.He branded the ban “absolutely ridiculous”. “When you compare Palestine Action with an actual terrorist group who are killing civilians and taking lives, it’s just a joke that they’re being prescribed a terrorist group,” he told AFP.As police moved in on the demonstrators, they applauded those being arrested and shouted “shame on you” at officers.”Let them arrest us all,” said Richard Bull, 42, a wheelchair-user in attendance.”This government has gone too far. I have nothing to feel ashamed of.”- NGOs opposed -London’s Met Police and other UK forces have made scores of similar arrests on previous weekends since the government outlawed Palestine Action on July 5. Anyone expressing support for a proscribed group risks arrest under UK anti-terror laws. Police announced this week that the first three people had been charged in the English and Welsh criminal justice system with supporting Palestine Action following their arrests at a July 5 demo.Being a member or supporting the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.Seven people have so far been charged in Scotland, which has a separate legal system.Amnesty International UK Chief Executive Sacha Deshmukh wrote to Met Police chief Mark Rowley this week urging restraint be exercised when policing people holding placards expressing support for Palestine Action.The NGO has argued arrests of such people are in breach of international human rights law.A UK court challenge against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action will be heard later this year.

Early on Saturday, as temperatures soared outside, a sprawling shopping centre in Dubai echoed to the squeak of sneakers as hundreds of people joined “Mallathon” — an indoor, air-conditioned race.The government-backed initiative aims to encourage exercise during August, often the United Arab Emirates’ hottest month, and make use of Dubai’s giant malls which are otherwise empty at that time.Running outside during summer in the Gulf, one of the world’s hottest regions where temperatures sometimes top 50C, is unpleasant and even unsafe for many.”If you run outside, it’s not healthy at all because temperatures are around 40C to 50C,” said one runner who gave his name as Rai, his platinum-blond hair pulled back with a headband.Participants wearing “Dubai Mallathon” T-shirts and sports gear ran and walked past closed stores along vacant, marbled halls that were set to be teeming with shoppers hours later.Throughout August, nine of the city’s shopping centres — including the cavernous Dubai Mall, one of the world’s biggest — are open daily for runners and walkers from 7am-10am.On weekends, runners can enter organised 10km, 5km or 2.5km races at designated malls, complete with podium presentations and prizes.During Saturday’s race at the City Centre Mirdif mall, two robots buzzed around the participants, who paused to take selfies with them.Others waited in line to use electric bikes that powered blenders to make healthy smoothies.- Mall rats -Mallathon is backed by Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 42, whose public profile projects him as an exemplar of active living.It is one of a number of attempts to steer Dubai’s car-loving, mall-rat population towards exercise, including the 30×30 challenge, where residents are encouraged to exercise 30 minutes a day for a month.Obesity rates in the energy-rich Gulf country regularly top global charts.A study published by The Lancet in March predicted a staggering 94 percent of UAE males would be overweight or obese by 2050 — the highest in the world.Partly to blame is the furnace-like heat that ravages the region for several months a year, and is steadily growing more intense.The UAE had its hottest April on record this year, and then breached its May high two days in a row. On August 1, temperatures reached 51.8C, just shy of the national record of 52C.Menna, a 36-year-old Egyptian who has lived in Dubai for 15 years, said there was “no way” she would exercise outside in the summer.But in the mall, “we have air-conditioning, first aid, water… there’s everything that you need.” “It motivates you more when other people are doing it too,” she added.Fouzeya Faridoon, head of social activities at Dubai Sports Council, said more than 500 people had signed up for Saturday’s event, which was free.”The idea is to encourage people to exercise, especially walking and running, even in the summer,” she told AFP.Children, men, women and at least one person with a disability were among the participants who collected a medal and a bag of freebies at the finish line.Zamani, a Sri Lankan tourist, was one of the runners, along with her young children.”I like the energy, everybody is all geared up,” the 46-year-old said. “It’s very modern and chic.”