Israelis surge into the streets again in protest as the toll in Gaza grows

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Huge numbers of Israelis again poured into the streets to protest the government's failure to secure the return of remaining hostages in Gaza, while hospital and local authorities said Israeli air raids in the territory killed more than a dozen people overnight into Saturday.

The new protest came a week after one of the largest demonstrations of the war following the discovery of another six dead hostages in Gaza, and after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against pressure for a cease-fire deal and declared that “no one will preach to me.”

“I think even those who were maybe reluctant to go out, who are not used to protest, who are sad but prefer to be in private space within their sadness, understood our voice must join together to one huge scream: Bring the hostages with a deal. Do not risk their lives," said one protester in Tel Aviv, Efrat Machikawa, niece of hostage Gadi Moses.

Israel has been under increasing pressure from the United States and other allies to reach a cease-fire deal, but Netanyahu insists on continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow band along Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel contends Hamas smuggles weapons. Egypt and Hamas deny it.

Inside Gaza, health workers wrapped up the second phase of an urgent polio vaccination campaign designed to prevent a large-scale outbreak. The drive, launched after the first polio case in the Palestinian enclave in 25 years, aims to vaccinate 640,000 children during a war that has destroyed the health care system. The third phase of vaccinations will be in the north.

Israel kept up its military offensive. In central Gaza’s urban refugee camp of Nuseirat, Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of nine people killed in two air raids. One hit a residential building, killing four people and wounding at least 10, while five people were killed in a strike on a house in western Nuseirat.

Separately, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, central Gaza’s main hospital, said a woman and her two children were killed in a strike on a house in the nearby urban refugee camp of Bureij.

In northern Gaza, an airstrike on a school-turned-shelter for displaced people in the town of Jabaliya killed at least four people and wounded about two dozen others, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense authority, which operates under the territory’s Hamas-run government. Israel's military said it struck a Hamas command post embedded in a former school compound.

The war began when Hamas and other militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, primarily civilians. Hamas is believed to still be holding more than 100 hostages. Israeli authorities estimate about a third are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry says more than 94,000 people have been wounded.

Violence has also spiked in the occupied West Bank. A dayslong military operation in Jenin left dozens of dead.

A day after an American protester was shot and killed in the West Bank, her family urged President Joe Biden to order an independent investigation, saying that “given the circumstances of (her) killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate." Their statement called the 26-year-old recent university graduate a “ray of sunshine” and an advocate for human dignity.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who also holds Turkish nationality, was shot in the head, two Palestinian doctors said. She had been demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Witnesses said she was shot during a moment of calm following earlier clashes.

The White House has said it was “deeply disturbed” and called on Israel to investigate. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports that troops had killed a foreign national while firing at an “instigator of violent activity."

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, a territory captured by Israel in 1967. Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis and attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians have left more than 690 Palestinians dead since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, according to Palestinian health officials.

In Gaza, Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out cease-fire negotiations by issuing new demands. Hamas has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants — broadly the terms called for under an outline for a deal put forward by Biden in July.

Along the border with Lebanon, near-daily clashes continued between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

An Israeli drone strike hit a Lebanese Civil Defense team fighting a fire in the town of Froun, killing three volunteers and wounding two others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. The blaze was sparked by a previous Israeli strike, the statement said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel's military said some 45 rockets were fired at northern Israel in several barrages, many targeting the Mount Meron area but falling in open areas. Several rockets fell in Shlomi and around the city of Safed. There were no injuries. The military later said its jets struck Hezbollah military infrastructure and a rocket launcher in the area of Qabrikha in southern Lebanon.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Jeffery from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

People protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A demonstrator waves the Israeli and U.S. flags during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A demonstrator reacts during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian girl Bana Bakr, 13, into the family house during her funeral in the West Bank village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Bakr was killed by Israeli fire, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli army said they were reviewing the incident. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Mourners take the last look at the body of Palestinian girl Bana Bakr, 13, at the family house during her funeral in the West Bank village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Bakr was killed by Israeli fire, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli army said they were reviewing the incident. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinian Barakat Jabr, 15, displays a photo of his sister Bana Bakr, 13, on his mobile phone in her bedroom at the family house, as he waits for her funeral, in the West Bank village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Bakr was killed by Israeli fire the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli army said they were reviewing the incident. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinians gather around the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, who was fatally shot by Israeli soldiers while participating in an anti-settlement protest in the West Bank, at the morgue of the Rafedia hospital, in the West Bank city of Nablus Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)

Palestinians look at the body of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at the hospital morgue in Nablus, West Bank, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Ezgi Eygi, 26, died after being shot in the head on Friday, Palestinian doctors said. Witnesses to the shooting said the was fatally shot by Israeli forces in a moment of calm after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinians carry the body of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at the hospital morgue in Nablus, West Bank, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Ezgi Eygi, 26, died after being shot in the head on Friday, Palestinian doctors said. Witnesses to the shooting said the was fatally shot by Israeli forces in a moment of calm after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinian mourners gather around the covered bodies of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, and Bana Bakr, 13, at a morgue in Nablus, West Bank, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Witnesses said Eygi, was fatally shot by Israeli forces in a moment of calm after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces near Nablus on Friday. Bakr was also killed by Israeli fire the Palestinian health ministry said, while the Israeli army said they were reviewing the incident which happened during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli nationals in an area south of Nablus. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, has died. He was 70.

Tito was the third of nine Jackson children, which include global superstars Michael and sister Janet, part of a music-making family whose songs are still beloved today.

“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll said in a statement posted on Instagram late Sunday.

The Jackson 5 included brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. The family group, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, produced several No. 1 hits in the 1970s including "ABC," “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There.”

The Jackson 5 became one of the biggest names in music under the guidance of their father, Joe Jackson, a steelworker and guitar player who supported his wife and nine children in Gary, Indiana. As the family’s music careers took off, they relocated to California.

Born on Oct. 15, 1953, Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson was the least-heard member of the group as a background singer who played guitar. His brothers launched solo careers, including Michael, who became one of the world's biggest performers known as The King of Pop.

Michael Jackson died at age 50 on June 25, 2009.

Speaking to The Associated Press in December 2009, Jackson said his younger brother's death pulled the family closer together.

“I would say definitely it brought us a step closer to each other. To recognize that the love we have for each other when one of us is not here, what a great loss,” he said, adding he would personally never “be at peace with it.”

“There’s still moments when I just can’t believe it. So I think that’s never going to go away,” he said.

In 2014, Jackson said he and his brothers still felt Michael Jackson's absence in their shows, which continued with international tours.

“I don’t think we will ever get used to performing without him. He’s dearly missed," he said, noting that Michael's spirit "is with us when we are performing. It gives us a lot of positive energy and puts a lot of smiles on our faces."

Days before his death, Jackson posted a message on his Facebook page from Germany on Sept. 11, where he visited a memorial to Michael Jackson with his brothers.

“Before our show in Munich, my brothers Jackie, Marlon, and I, visited the beautiful memorial dedicated to our beloved brother, Michael Jackson. We’re deeply grateful for this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive," he wrote.

Tito Jackson was the last of the nine Jackson siblings to release a solo project with his 2016 debut, “Tito Time.” He released a song in 2017, “One Way Street,” and told the AP in 2019 that he was working on a sophomore album.

Jackson said he purposely held back from pursuing a solo career because he wanted to focus on raising his three sons, TJ, Taj and Taryll, who formed their own music group, 3T. Jackson's website offers a link to a single featuring 3T and Stevie Wonder titled, “Love One Another.”

Tito Jackson also is survived by his brothers Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie, his sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya and their mother, Katherine. Their father died in 2018.

Jackson's death was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.

FILE - Pop star Michael Jackson, center, his mother Katherine Jackson, right, and brother Tito Jackson, left, leave Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Calif., April 7, 2005, after another day of testimony in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

FILE - From left, brothers Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Marlon Jackson pose for a portrait together in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Singer Tito Jackson arrives at the opening night of, "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour," in Los Angeles, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)

FILE - The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, front right; Marlon Jackson, front left; Tito Jackson, back left; Jackie Jackson, back center; and Jermaine Jackson, back right; pose for this undated photo together in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Tito Jackson, a member of the famed Jackson 5, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, July 24, 2019, to promote his solo project, a new version of his 2017 song "One Way Street." (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File)