Large protests in Israel...Call for ceasefire and hostage release negotiations

In the wake of the death of Palestinian militant Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in Israel, there have been growing calls for a ceasefire and negotiations for the release of hostages.

Large-scale protests were held in several cities, including the Israeli capital Tel Aviv, on the 19th local time, calling for negotiations with Hamas.

Protesters claimed that hardline Sinwar, who has refused to negotiate, was killed by Israeli forces on the 16th, marking a turning point in negotiations.

He also urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make the return of hostages taken during Hamas' surprise attack on October 7 last year a top priority.

At that time, more than 250 hostages were taken to the Palestinian Gaza Strip, 101 of whom were still detained, Israeli authorities said.

A third of the hostages are believed to have died.