Thousands protest in Israel as Gaza war reaches six-month mark

Tens of thousands of people protested in Israel on Saturday demanding a deal to free the hostages in Gaza as the war reached the six-month mark.

Anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv called for an election, while a rally in Jerusalem demanding leaders secure a hostage release is set to take place on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Israel said its special forces had recovered the body of a hostage killed while being held captive in Gaza, as Hamas said it would take part in a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo.

The body of Elad Katzir, a 47-year-old Israeli farmer, was unearthed by commandos in southern Khan Younis overnight, the military said. He had been killed and buried there in mid-January, it said, citing intelligence information about which it declined to elaborate.

Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been trying to secure another deal that might return some of the 129 remaining hostages in a longer ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo and an Israeli government official said on Sunday an Israeli delegation will also take part but Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the hostages being held in Gaza are released.

Netanyahu said that despite growing international pressure, Israel would not give in to "extreme" demands from Hamas.

In a further development, the Israeli military has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip except for one brigade, a military spokesperson said.

The military did not immediately provide further details and it was unclear whether the withdrawal would delay a long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israeli leaders have said is needed to eliminate Hamas.

Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 33,175 Palestinians and wounded 75,886 since October 7, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Sunday.

There have been 38 Palestinians killed and 71 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry statement added.