More than 50 Israeli hostages freed by "Hamas" and families of people still held by the Palestinian group called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement for a "full" ceasefire to allow the release of the remaining hostages, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"The war could be over in a week," said the mother of a hostage, after the weekly meeting of the "Hostage Families Forum" organization in Tel Aviv. "War will not bring back the hostages, it will kill them. Only an agreement to return them will bring them back," she added, accusing the prime minister of sabotaging the negotiations and using her son Matan "and other hostages as pawns on his political chessboard".
Another 56 hostages released by "Hamas" called on the prime minister to implement "fully and immediately" the ceasefire agreement, the first phase of which came into effect on February 19, but which remains very fragile.
Among those signing the appeal is Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and his two young sons - Kfir and Ariel, were killed while in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Fifty-eight of the 251 people kidnapped by "Hamas" in the attacks on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip. 34 of them have been declared dead by the Israeli army.
Israel will send a delegation to the Qatari capital Doha on Monday to make progress in negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire with the Palestinian group "Hamas" in the Gaza Strip, after accepting the invitation of the mediators. This was announced by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, BTA reported.
Meanwhile, "Hamas" said that there were "positive signals" in talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators about the start of the second phase of the negotiations, but without revealing further details.
A senior US official has held direct talks with "Hamas" regarding the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, President Donald Trump confirmed earlier this week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that it had "accepted the invitation of the US-backed mediators".
On March 2, Israel blocked trucks carrying humanitarian aid from entering Gaza to pressure Hamas to release half of the Israeli hostages still being held in exchange for an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire, which ended last weekend.
"Hamas" called Netanyahu's decision to cut off humanitarian aid to Gaza "a war crime" and called on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene. "Hamas" is believed to be holds 24 more hostages and the bodies of 34 others, the Associated Press reports.
The ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which came into effect in January, stipulates that the remaining hostages held by "Hamas" will be released in the second phase of the truce, during which final plans for ending the war will be agreed.
US President Donald Trump's golf resort in Scotland has been painted with pro-Palestinian graffiti, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Local media showed photos showing inscriptions made in red paint on the walls of the golf resort, with slogans "Free Gaza" and "Free Palestine", as well as insults against Trump. "Gaza is not for sale" was written on some of the green areas and dug holes on the playground.
The group "Action Palestine", which claimed responsibility for the vandalism, said they had caused the damage, writing on the "Ex" platform that "while Trump tries to treat Gaza as his property, he should know that his property is within arm's reach".
Last month, Trump angered the Arab world by unexpectedly declaring that the US would take control of the Gaza Strip, resettle its 2 million Palestinian population and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East".
Police Scotland said they were investigating the incident. "At around 04:40 "We received a report of damage to the golf course and premises on Maidens Road, Turnbury, at 8:24 a.m. local time today, March 8, 2025," a Police Scotland spokesman said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
A man climbed the famous Big Ben clock tower in London on Saturday, waving a Palestinian flag, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
At 7:24 a.m. (9:24 a.m. Bulgarian time), police in the British capital were alerted to a man climbing the Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster, where the British parliament is located.
“Officers are on the scene and are working to bring the incident to a safe conclusion“, the police statement added.
Late this morning, the man was still several metres up the tower on the banks of the Thames. Westminster Bridge had to be closed, causing major traffic congestion in that area of central London. Many people gathered outside the security cordon set up by police. Fire and ambulance services arrived.
Three emergency services personnel were lifted onto a crane, one of whom used a megaphone to speak to the man who had climbed the tower. The man, wearing a black coat and hat, was holding a Palestinian flag and an Arab keffiyeh.