JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza blocked Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway on Friday, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approve a proposed prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

The protest took place as Israel faces growing pressure to respond to a ceasefire proposal that Hamas accepted earlier this week. Mediators say the plan includes a temporary truce and a phased exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners.

On Thursday, Netanyahu said he had authorized talks for a new deal, but signaled he would seek changes to the current proposal, despite its similarity to terms previously accepted by Israel.

According to Israeli estimates, of the over 200 taken captive in the October 2023 attacks, Hamas still holds about 50, including 20 believed to be alive. In parallel, over 10,800 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel.

Overall, Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza in its nearly two-year military campaign.

Famine has been confirmed in Gaza Governorate of the Gaza Strip, and is projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis governorates by the end of September, according to global hunger monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

After 22 months of relentless conflict, the IPC said, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing starvation, destitution, and death. Another 1.07 million people - over half the population - are facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity.

A temporary ceasefire in Gaza was reached in November 2023, while a second truce in January ended with an attack by Israel in March.