Thousands of Israelis rallied in central Tel Aviv, calling on the government to end the war on Gaza and secure the immediate release of Israeli captives held in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that in Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli campaign group, held its weekly rally Saturday in “Hostages Square”, while another demonstration by families of captives is taking place outside the Israeli military headquarters.
A separate antigovernment protest is also occurring at Habima Square in Tel Aviv.
The Times of Israel reported that Shai Mozes, whose parents were held captive and released in separate exchange deals, told the crowd at the protest in Habima Square that Israel’s “real enemy is not Hamas, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is destroying Israel as a Jewish and democratic state”.
Netanyahu’s critics in Israel have accused the prime minister of extending the war for his own personal and political survival.
Haaretz also reported that protests are expected in other cities, including Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beersheba, as well as at dozens of other sites and intersections across Israel.
After Netanyahu announced an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticised the move in a statement, saying the plan is “sacrificing” those still held in the Palestinian territory.
A demonstrator wearing a mask representing US President Donald Trump and carrying a doll with a mask depicting Netanyahu at an antigovernment protest in Tel Aviv [Jack Guez/AFP]
Hamas releases video of two Israeli captives alive in Gaza
Hamas’s armed wing released a video on Saturday showing two Israeli captives alive in the Gaza Strip, with one of the two men calling to end the 19-month-long war.
Israeli media identified the pair in the undated video as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana.
The three-minute video released by Hamas’s Qassam Brigades shows one of the captives, identified by media as 36-year-old Bohbot, visibly weak and lying on the floor wrapped in a blanket.
Ohana, 24, speaks in Hebrew in the video, urging the Israeli government to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining captives.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has denied trespassing at a new United States federal immigration detention centre following his arrest and release.
Baraka, who has been protesting the centre’s opening this week, denied his trespassing charge on Saturday, a day after he spent several hours in police custody.
The mayor has gone head-to-head with the Trump administration over undocumented immigration, pushing back against the opening of the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 1,000-bed detention facility, arguing that it should not be allowed to open because of building permit issues.
Officials accused Baraka of trespassing and ignoring warnings to leave the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, New Jersey.
“I’m shocked by all the lies that were told here,” he said, adding he had been invited there for a news conference.
“No one else [was] arrested, I was invited in, then they arrested me on the sidewalk.”
Alina Habba, interim US Attorney for New Jersey, said on the social media platform X that Baraka trespassed at the detention facility, which is run by private prison operator Geo Group.
Habba said Baraka had “chosen to disregard the law”.
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for public affairs with the US Department of Homeland Security, said in an interview with CNN on Saturday that the investigation was ongoing and that more video from the scene would soon be released.
She also accused Baraka of playing “political games”.
Baraka was taken into custody by the ICE agents in a scuffle at the facility.
He had joined several lawmakers at the detention centre for a demonstration on Friday.
Video of the incident showed that Baraka was arrested after returning to the public side of the gate to the facility.
Carlo Ancelotti says Xabi Alonso has “all the doors open” for a move to a big club, with speculation building that the former Real Madrid midfielder is set to replace the Italian coach at the helm of the Spanish powerhouse.
Ancelotti gave his routine pre-game news conference on Saturday, a day after Alonso announced he was leaving Bayer Leverkusen.
He praised the work of Alonso, who has been widely linked to an eventual move back to Madrid after leading the German club to the Bundesliga title last season.
“I read that Xabi is leaving Bayer Leverkusen, where he did a fantastic job,” Ancelotti said before Sunday’s trip to Barcelona. “He has all the doors open because he has shown that he is one of the best coaches in the world.”
Xabi Alonso confirmed in a news conference on Friday that he would leave Leverkusen at the end of the season [Marius Becker/Picture Alliance via Getty Images]
Ancelotti again refused to speak about his future, especially before a decisive Clasico in LaLiga. Madrid trail Barcelona by four points and need to win to keep alive their chances of winning a trophy this campaign.
But he did speak movingly about what Madrid means — and will mean — for the most successful manager in European football.
For Ancelotti, his relationship with the club he has spent six seasons at in two stints is an everlasting “honeymoon”.
“The honeymoon with this club never ends, it continues forever,” he said. “I think that Real Madrid, like Milan before, are the teams that stay with me, given the time I have spent here. At the beginning, there is passion, and when that fades, other feelings emerge, a sense of tender care. My honeymoon with Real Madrid will last for as long as I live.”
The 65-year-old coach is under contract through the next campaign but is widely expected to leave after an underwhelming season in which the team played worse despite adding Kylian Mbappe to its squad.
Brazil have been courting Ancelotti for over a year, and it appears talks are still ongoing with the veteran manager.
Real Madrid must play ‘complete’ game at Barcelona
With only four games remaining of the LaLiga season, only a win will realistically keep Real’s hopes of retaining the title, and for Ancelotti, they will need to get everything right to have a chance on Sunday.
“In this type of game, you have to do things well. Barcelona are used to keeping the opponent in their own area, but no team is perfect,” he said.
“It’s a game where there’s a lot at stake, and to win, you have to manage everything well, defend well, attack well. We have to play a complete game.”
With so much at stake against their great rivals, Ancelotti will have little trouble getting his players fired up.
“It’s not difficult to motivate the players because it’s the type of match for which the players already come out motivated and with a lot of confidence,” he said.
“Playing with Barcelona is special. It will be the last ‘El Clasico’ of the season because Barca are not in the Club World Cup.”
Who’s scoring in #ELCLÁSICO? 🤍 pic.twitter.com/Tgx1X8cVuA
Barcelona focused despite Champions League woe
Barcelona’s players have discussed last week’s Champions League elimination and are ready to put their disappointment behind them against rivals Real Madrid, manager Hansi Flick said in his news conference on Saturday.
Barca suffered a 4-3 Champions League semifinal defeat by Inter Milan on Tuesday.
A home win on Sunday would move Flick’s side one victory away from their 28th Spanish league title.
“We’re doing well. After the defeat in Milan, everyone knows it’s not easy … but we’re doing things right. We’ve talked about what we want to do in these two weeks,” Flick told reporters.
“There are four more games to go. El Clasico is important, we have to show how well we can play. We have to show confidence. The players are doing very well … We’ve been talking about what they are thinking, what they are feeling.
“We had to talk about it as a group. Everyone knows that in a Clasico, you have to give 100 percent. You have to be active, intense, dominant. Real Madrid is a very good team, and we need the fans.”
El Clasico – the low down
Translated as “The Classic” in English, El Clasico is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The special matchup between these football sides was born out of a more-than-a-century-old political-historical dimension between an increasingly distinct Catalan national identity, with FC Barcelona representing Catalonia, pitched against the centralised power structures of Spain’s capital city, Madrid, and by extension, its most famous football club, Real Madrid.
The first match between the two Spanish mega clubs was played on May 13, 1902.
In total, 260 matches have been played. Real Madrid lead in head-to-head results with 105 wins to Barcelona’s 103, with 52 draws.
Last five LaLiga matches
Barcelona: W-W-W-W-D (most recent fixture first)
May 3, 2025 – Real Valladolid 1-2 Barcelona April 22, 2025 – Barcelona 1-0 Mallorca April 19, 2025 – Barcelona 4-3 Celta Vigo April 12, 2025 – Leganes 0-1 Barcelona April 5, 2025 – Barcelona 1-1 Real Betis
Real Madrid: W-W-W-W-L (most recent fixture first)
India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire after days of military escalation, deadly cross-border attacks, accusations and counter accusations, had raised acute concerns that the two nuclear-armed neighbours would engage in an all-out war for the fifth time since 1947.
But violations of the truce were reported later on Saturday as explosions rang out across parts of Indian-administered Kashmir.
Military officials from both countries had spoken to each other and agreed that all fighting would stop at 17:00 Indian time (11:30 GMT) on Saturday, bringing a halt to all firing and operations by land, air, and sea. This followed heavy overnight exchanges Friday into Saturday.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the two military chiefs would speak to each other again on May 12.
“Pakistan has always strived for peace and security in the region, without compromising on its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said.
The announcement had met relief and joyous scenes by residents in both countries and in the areas of disputed Kashmir that each administers.
But just hours after the ceasefire was announced, explosions were heard across the city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, according to Omar Abdullah, chief minister of the federal territory. “What the hell just happened to the ceasefire? Explosions heard across Srinagar,” Abdullah posted on X.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Lahore, Pakistan, said, “People are welcoming the ceasefire, but we are also reminded how precarious it is; ceasefire violations are already happening across the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.”
“We’ve been hearing from local sources that there has been an exchange of fire in multiple locations in the Kashmir region, and there are some projectiles that have entered the Pakistani airspace, as well”, he said.
“We’re also hearing the loud explosions in Srinagar, similar to what was heard early Saturday and in the afternoon. Air sirens are all across, and there’s a power shutdown,” journalist Umar Mehraj told Al Jazeera from Srinagar.
“I can see projectiles flying, projectiles in the sky. It’s very unclear if they are missiles or air defence intercepting these attacks. Similar reports of the explosions are being heard in Baramulla and Jammu,” said Mehraj.
Electricity was cut off across multiple localities, adding to the confusion. With no official clarification on the nature of the blasts, some residents described feeling “abandoned and unprepared”.
“One of the blasts was so powerful it made the walls tremble. Authorities are not clarifying what is going on; we do not have any shelters, nor did we hear any sirens. We do not know what to do. There is only fear,” one Srinagar resident told Al Jazeera.
The ceasefire appears to have been mediated by international actors, but there are conflicting reports as to which countries played a crucial role.
US President Donald Trump claims it was the US – he was first to declare it on Truth Social post: “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE”.
“Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence,” he wrote.
Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, noted, “There are questions about why the US did announce first. What sort of leverage does it have over India and Pakistan? We do know that it was a multilateral attempt to get a ceasefire. We do know, as well, that the United Kingdom has just signed a major trade deal with India, so it would also have great sway in this. Still, the US appears to be taking it further.”
However, Dar told broadcaster Geo News that Pakistan and India had agreed to a “full-fledged” and “not partial” ceasefire, adding that three dozen countries were involved in the diplomacy that secured it.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agreement also includes plans for broader talks at a neutral venue, which conflicts with a statement published on social media by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that says, “There is no decision to hold talks on any other issue at any other place.”
Indian army soldiers stand guard in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, May 10, 2025 [Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo]
Broader Issues
Amid the cessation of hostilities, India and Pakistan have also agreed to a broader dialogue on various issues.
Two government sources told the news agency Reuters that all measures taken by India against Pakistan after April 22, including on trade and visas, remain in place.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Lahore, Pakistan, said that for the Pakistani side, the water issue is crucial “because India has suspended its related treaty with Pakistan, which affects the livelihood and agriculture in this country”.
Four government sources told Reuters that the Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan, remains suspended.
The treaty regulates the sharing of water from the Indus River and its tributaries between the South Asian nations. India pulled out of it last month. It is crucial to agriculture in both nations.
“There are real fundamental political issues that need to be addressed so we don’t find ourselves again in a militarised crisis,” Elizabeth Threlkeld, director of the South Asia programme at the Stimson Centre, told Al Jazeera.
“The timing is significant since there is significant water flow between India and Pakistan because of the season at the moment. But in a few months’ time, that will start to dry up,” she said.
India does not necessarily have the infrastructure to meaningfully divert water right now, but it will gain that capacity when there’s less flow. So, that will have to be on the agenda of the talks if the two sides are to come together,” she added.
‘God has been kind to us for now’
Following the announcement of a ceasefire, residents on both sides of the Line of Control in Kashmir expressed a sense of relief, with many praying for a lasting solution to the Kashmir conflict.
“I was extremely anxious about what was happening,” 25-year-old Rumaisa Jan, a resident of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir who has her wedding scheduled next week, told Al Jazeera. “This is the wisest decision taken after so many lives have been lost. We want peace and an end to all these hostilities.”
Firdous Ahmad Sheikh, who runs a travel agency in the city, said he was frustrated by Kashmir being turned into a “battleground” by the two countries.
“My only fear is that things could escalate again in future. These countries must sit together and find a political solution to Kashmir once and for all. I pray our children don’t have to witness such times again.
“God has been kind to us for now.”
Pakistani people flashing victory signs stand over a tank as they celebrate after the ceasefire between Pakistan and India, in Multan on May 10, 2025[ Shahid Saeed Mirza/AFP]
In Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, residents welcomed the ceasefire, saying they hope it will bring long-awaited relief to a region that has borne the brunt of recurring conflict.
At least 33 people have been killed in Sudan in attacks suspected to have been carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the brutal two-year war claims its latest victims.
An RSF strike on a prison on Saturday in el-Obeid killed at least 19 people, while on Friday evening, at least 14 members of the same family were killed in an air attack in Darfur, local sources said.
The attacks – part of the RSF’s ongoing war with the military-led government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since 2023 – came after six straight days of the paramilitary group’s drone attacks on the army-led government’s wartime capital of Port Sudan.
These attacks damaged key infrastructure, including a power grid and the country’s last operational civilian airport, which was a key gateway for aid into the war-ravaged nation.
The war has left tens of thousands dead, displaced 13 million people and triggered what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The attack on the prison on Saturday also wounded 45 people, a medical source told the AFP news agency. The source said the jail in the army-controlled city in the North Kordofan state capital was hit by an RSF drone.
The night before, 14 people were killed at the Abu Shouk displacement camp near el-Fasher in Darfur, a rescue group said, blaming the paramilitary.
The camp “was the target of intense bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces on Friday evening”, said the group of volunteer aid workers.
The camp near el-Fasher, the last state capital in Darfur still out of the RSF’s control, is plagued by famine, according to the UN.
It is home to tens of thousands of people who fled the violence of successive conflicts in Darfur and the conflict that has been ripping Africa’s third-largest country asunder since 2023.
The RSF has shelled the camp several times in recent weeks.
Abu Shouk is located near the Zamzam camp, which the RSF seized in April after a devastating offensive that virtually emptied it.
RSF escalation
Elsewhere on Saturday, SAF warplanes struck RSF positions in the Darfur cities of Nyala and el-Geneina, destroying arms depots and military equipment, a military source told AFP.
The RSF has recently said it had taken the strategic town of al-Nahud in West Kordofan, a key army supply line to Darfur.
The RSF’s escalation in Port Sudan earlier this month came after the military struck the Nyala airport in South Darfur, where the RSF receives foreign military assistance, including drones. Local media stated that dozens of RSF officers were killed in the attack.
Sudan’s army-aligned authorities accuse the United Arab Emirates of supplying those drones to the RSF, which has no air force of its own.
The war began as a power struggle between SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. It has effectively divided the country into two, with the army controlling the north, east and centre, while the RSF and its allies dominate nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.
