Megidish was among 243 people taken hostage by Hamas during its assault on Oct. 7, which left at least 1,400 people dead and more than 5,000 wounded. The terrorists have released four women.
She had been serving in the IDF's Nahal Oz Base near the Gaza border as a spotter after enlisting six months ago, Channel 12 reported.
Though other members of her unit were also taken hostage, Megidish is believed to have been held alone.
After the news broke of the soldier's return, celebrations broke out in her hometown of Kiryat Gat in southern Israel.
"Thanks to the Creator of the World, thanks to our soldiers," Megidish's aunt said during an emotional interview with Channel 12. "Thank you to the people of Israel ... we are very excited."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) on their "important and exciting achievement," which he said "expresses our commitment to the release of all the hostages."
"The entire nation of Israel salutes the Shin Bet and salutes the IDF," commented the premier.
The state will "exhaust every possibility" to bring back the Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, Netanyahu told relatives of the missing on Saturday.
The meeting in Tel Aviv lasted for some two hours, after which the families participated in a rally demanding the abductees’ return.
On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant dismissed a Hamas offer to exchange the Israelis being held in Gaza for thousands of Palestinian terrorists sitting in Israeli prisons as “psychological games.”
“If there is no military pressure on Hamas, nothing will progress,” Gallant told relatives of the hostages, according to a Defense Ministry statement. “The stories published by Hamas are part of its psychological games. Hamas is cynically using those who are dear to us.”
On Monday, Hamas released footage showing three female Israeli hostages. The women in the video are confirmed to be Danielle Aloni, Rimon Kirsht and Lena Trupanob, according to Netanyahu's office.
The Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem called the video "cruel psychological propaganda by Hamas-ISIS."
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Netanyahu appealed to "Lena Trupanob, Danielle Aloni and Rimon Kirsht, who were abducted by Hamas that commits war crimes."
"I embrace you. Our hearts are with you and the other hostages. We are doing everything to bring all the hostages and missing people home," wrote the prime minister.
A potential deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza is nearing completion, with the details having been finalized and awaiting the terror group's final approval, Hebrew media reported on Monday.
Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft agreement, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters. A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel’s spy chiefs, President-elect Trump's Middle East envoy and Qatar’s prime minister, the official said.
According to an outline published by Saudi outlet Al Arabiya, under the terms of the phased agreement Israel is to withdraw from specific areas of Gaza over 42 days, increase humanitarian aid and eventually withdraw fully from Gaza. The agreement also includes the release of 50 Palestinian terrorists serving life sentences and the exchange of 50 "female prisoners" for each Israeli female soldier released.
The Hamas terrorist group is holding 98 hostages in Gaza, 94 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and four of whom were captured in 2014, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Thirty-six of the hostages Hamas is holding are deceased, including two from 2014 (Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden recently discussed the negotiations, with Biden stressing the urgency of a ceasefire and the return of hostages. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan noted that while an agreement was close, some issues remain unresolved. The goal is to finalize the deal by Jan. 20, the date of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
A senior Israeli delegation traveled to Doha on Sunday amid signs of flexibility from Hamas and pressure from the Trump administration to secure an agreement before the inauguration.
Netanyahu dispatched Mossad Director David Barnea; Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar; Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the head of the Missing and Captive Soldiers Section in the Military Intelligence Directorate; and his political adviser Ophir Falk to Doha following a discussion in Jerusalem on Saturday afternoon with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said on Sunday that the hostage-deal talks between Israel and Hamas are progressing because the Gaza terrorist organization is “terrified” by Donald Trump’s warnings.
Speaking on Fox News, Vance also shed some light on what those threats could mean in practice.
“It means enabling the Israelis to knock out the last couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It means actually doing the job of American leadership,” said Vance of Trump’s comments at the end of December.
“We’re hopeful there’s a deal that’s struck toward the very end of the Biden administration, maybe the last day or two,” he said. “But regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that there are going to be consequences for Hamas.”
President-elect Trump has issued a number of warnings to Hamas that there will be “hell to pay” if the Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip are not released by the time he returns to office on Jan. 20.
When asked recently by American political commentator Hugh Hewitt to elaborate, Trump replied, “I don’t think I have to go into it. ... But it won’t be the word ‘don’t,’ you know. I heard the word ‘don’t,’ you can add that into it, but that would just be a small part of it. ... Those hostages have to get out. They have to get out now.”
Speaking to ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, incoming U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz reiterated Trump’s warnings, stressing that waiting past Trump's inauguration to strike an agreement will only worsen the terms for Hamas.
“Any deal will only get worse for Hamas, and there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East if we continue to have this kind of hostage diplomacy,” Waltz warned.
“Let’s allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across the tarmac, or at a minimum some type of agreement before inauguration, because President Trump is serious,” he added.
A high-level Israeli delegation has already arrived in Doha, Qatar for critical talks aimed at cementing a deal.
Among the senior personnel participating are Mossad Director David Barnea, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the head of the Missing and Captive Soldiers Section in the Military Intelligence Directorate and the prime minister’s political adviser Ophir Falk.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Saturday in what was described as a “surprise visit” to discuss the multilateral negotiations with Hamas for the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza.
After a situation assessment discussion held by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the delegation was instructed to leave for Doha.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with his British counterpart David Lammy on Sunday in Jerusalem. The two discussed Iran, Syria and Lebanon, as well as efforts to retrieve Israeli hostages from Gaza.
"Israel is interested in a hostage deal and is working to achieve it. We will soon know whether Hamas is interested," Sa’ar’s told Lammy, according to a statement from his office.
Sa'ar also emphasized to Lammy the need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, according to the statement.
The meeting followed tensions in the bilateral relations between Israel and the U.K. government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party.
In October, Lammy announced a third round of sanctions targeting Israeli organizations in Judea and Samaria, citing concerns over human rights abuses against Palestinians.
The sanctions, which included asset freezes, were for entities deemed guilty of “facilitating, inciting, promoting, or supporting activities that seriously violate Palestinian human rights,” Lammy said in October.
Sometime after Oct. 7, 2023, the United Kingdom imposed a partial suspension of arms sales to Israel that became known in early September. That decision drew sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it “shameful” and asserted that it would not deter Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas.
There was a “clear risk” the arms “might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” Lammy said at the time.
In November, Lammy said Netanyahu would likely be arrested if he visited the United Kingdom because of the arrest warrants for alleged “war crimes” issued against him and former defense minister Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court.
Israel has denied the allegations and criticized the court for this move, as has the United States. The governments of several countries, including Poland and Hungary, that are parties to the Rome Statute have said they would ignore the arrest warrants.
During their meeting on Sunday Lammy invited Sa'ar to pay an official visit to the United Kingdom in the near future, according to Sa'ar's office.
On Oct. 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists and Gaza civilians invaded Israel, murdering about 1,200 people and abducting 251. Israel launched an ongoing military campaign to dismantle Hamas in Gaza and retrieve its hostages.
On Saturday, Netanyahu sent his most senior negotiators—including Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Ronen Bar, Mossad Director David Barnea and Maj. Gen (res.) Nitzan Alon, the IDF’s point man for retrieving the hostages—to Doha, indicating that the discussions are approaching a critical point.
Among the hurdles that blocked previous rounds of talks were Hamas’s insistence on an IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a precondition to releasing the hostages and its demand for the release of terrorists in Israeli prisons that Israel is not prepared to set free.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned Hamas to release the hostages before he enters office on Jan. 20, promising that there will be “hell to pay” if this does not happen.
Entering the Israeli Air Force's Hatzor Base, near Ashdod, one might think nothing has changed in recent years. But as you proceed into the heart of the facility, it becomes clear that what was will never be the same again.
The base is busier than ever, and encounters with younger and older airmen alike testify that we are in the midst of war. This young generation has been busy protecting the homeland for 15 months now.
A decade ago, this writer was here for an Independence Day story, trying out the simulator that pilots use to maintain operational readiness in case they need to respond quickly. Since then, our world has been turned upside down, and suddenly, alongside training and long hours in the simulator, it seems our pilots are logging the same hours in the real thing, in the skies of the Middle East.
Along with the change in spirit, the base will soon see a material change as well. A facility being built these days will allow for more simulator work and diversify pilots' training, enabling them to work in larger formations and accommodate more aircrew members.
Its construction will be completed in the coming years, and the new generation will be using this simulator, further widening the gap between the blue and white Air Force and air forces across much of the Western world, certainly in the Middle East.
An F-15 simulator
At the entrance to the MTC (Mission Training Center), its commander, Maj. T., awaits us. A kippah on his head, a smile on his face, and above all, much patience for a reporter who is about to climb into an F-15 simulator for the second time in his life and, as usual, embarrass himself.
Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar attends the "Spark" UAV inauguration ceremony at Hatzor Airbase, Sept. 10, 2023. Credit: IDF.
From T.'s words, who participated in the strike on Iran, one can understand that with each such strike, pilots improve in the simulator as well, as it allows them to better understand the topography of each location, including places where no one imagined we would be (Sanaa in Yemen, for example).
This is exactly the discussion that will accompany us during our visit to the Mission Training Center: How much can the simulator, especially in the AI era, simulate that real feeling of war. "Look, there are many advantages to the simulator, and over the years it really keeps improving," T. explains.
"I'll clarify—in fact, in the simulator you can reach extreme situations that the chance of them happening in real training or combat is very small, but you can turn the simulator into one that constantly puts you in these extreme situations. Indeed, it happened more than once in the past year that soldiers returned from distant and near operations and the first thing they said was, 'Wow, it's just like in the simulator,' or alternatively presented us with things related to improving the simulator."
Squadron commander Lt. Col. A., who participated in a strike on Yemen, joins the conversation as we begin walking toward the simulator: "Besides the clear advantages of training, beyond what the simulator can provide 24 hours a day, first we must remember the financial costs as well. In the end, there's savings of hundreds of millions for the army of course, especially in the period we're in now. You can't train at any moment and in any situation, but in the simulator it's possible."
'Oct. 7 wasn't in the simulator'
I ask A. how much the simulator really simulates what's been happening here in the past year.
"First of all, true, October 7 was something that didn't appear in any simulator," he says. "I think all of us, like the entire army, understood and learned from what happened there, and since then the situation has completely changed, and from what happened there we're all trying to learn.
"Another thing, physiologically the simulator can't simulate of course the feeling of encountering g-force—that's something you can only experience when you're in the air. Perhaps in the future these are the dramatic changes that will be in the simulator, in my opinion, if they manage to incorporate them, that physical experience."
When I get on the simulator, the commanders won't let me "fly" in other countries' territory, and I have to take off from Israel and stay within the country's boundaries. They'll make sure foreign aircraft "infiltrate here" and attack me, although after what happened here in the past year, what enemy aircraft can still attack me?
In the simulator there are no Gazans on donkeys wearing flip-flops, but still I'm "attacked by foreign forces," and as usual finish the simulator at a level that A. defines as "barely flight school material." I don't know, I feel I was excellent, especially in the turns I took and the exercises I did, but T. explains that I took a turn like a "transport plane and not a fighter jet."
I explain to him that like parking in Tel Aviv, I entered carefully so as not to hit the cars in front and behind. They almost laugh. Fortunately, I finish the essay without vertigo, and I also manage to drop fragments over the sea and not hit civilian population. You can continue sleeping peacefully, there are those who are watching over you.
Another thing that isn't in the simulator, or at least wasn't shown to me, is the drone threat. The different sizes, different confrontations that the Air Force faces since Hezbollah and the Houthis entered the fight, force the entire security system to respond quickly.
"We know how to bring the data to Elbit [Haifa-based Elbit Systems Ltd., the primary provider of the military's land-based equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles], and during the war we learned how quickly they know how to write code that will deal with the threat of drones in different sizes," explains T. "This allows the entire system, including the simulator, to deal with things differently and more efficiently, and of course together with the data that pilots bring from the field we know how to improve during the war."
The aftermath of an Israeli strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Source: Arab social media.
Following progress
With AI entering our world, the question arises where this field is going regarding the battlefield, especially when we're talking about simulators. When we meet female soldiers who can recite by heart the entire structure of the aircraft and its capabilities, we ask where this knowledge will go as technology develops: "That's the question," says T., "I assume we don't know how to answer that yet."
A. argues that "there is and will be no substitute for human experience, with all due respect to the simulator, when you're in the sky physically, bodily, mentally—everything looks different.
"True, the simulator prepares you for extreme situations, and then even in mentally difficult situations when you're in the air you know how to react calmly, because you trained in the simulator, but there are still events that occur in the battlefield and the simulator doesn't simulate them, for example if God forbid you need to make a decision related to ejecting from the aircraft, in the end in the simulator it's not like the real thing, because when you're there alone the decisions made are different."
U.S. and U.K. forces struck Yemen's Houthis on Jan. 22, 2024. Source: Social media.
I don't know whether this public relations tour was meant to strengthen the confidence we all have in the excellent people who shake our houses every evening ("Really sorry, we're rushing to the target," A. laughs at me), or to restore our lost faith in everything related to the state and army in the past year. Either way, cynicism aside, at Hatzor you meet the best men and women Israel has to offer.
The Israeli Defense Forces conducted several airstrikes on Hezbollah related sites in Lebanon overnight Monday.
These attacks aimed to address threats to Israel's home front and military and to disrupt Hezbollah's weapons smuggling routes, according to the military.
Targets included a rocket launcher site, a military facility and border routes between Syria and Lebanon.
The strikes followed intelligence assessments and were communicated under ceasefire monitoring mechanisms, as the threats had not been addressed by the Lebanese Armed Forces. The IDF reiterated its commitment to countering Hezbollah's attempts to rebuild its forces.
The Israeli Air Force on Saturday struck three Hezbollah operatives on the Lebanese side of the border, near Israeli territory in the Har Dov area. Also on Saturday, the IAF targeted terrorists exiting a building in Southern Lebanon that belonged to Hezbollah.
The IDF’s 769th “Hiram” Brigade confiscated a significant cache of Hezbollah weapons during operations in Southern Lebanon, the army said on Friday.
Rocket launchers, mortar shells, rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-launched missiles and explosive devices were located, along with anti-tank firing positions and hidden weapons.
Israeli forces are gradually withdrawing from Southern Lebanon as part of a 60-day ceasefire that went into effect on Nov. 27, while the Lebanese Armed Forces and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) forces take over responsibilities for ensuring that Hezbollah remains disarmed south of the Litani River.
An Israeli Air Force helicopter on Monday morning intercepted an armed drone over southern Israel that had been launched from Yemen, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
According to protocol, no sirens were activated, the military said.
On Wednesday night, Israeli air-defense systems shot down three Houthi drones launched from Yemen, with the military publishing video of one of the interceptions over the Mediterranean Sea.
Another UAV was intercepted over the Mediterranean earlier in the day, and a drone was shot down by IAF helicopters, triggering air-raid sirens in Gvulot, a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev.
Since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched around 40 surface-to-surface missiles and 320 UAVs toward Israel, according to the IDF.
Israeli defenses intercepted most missiles and over 100 drones. Two missile fragments and two UAV hits were identified, while the rest caused no significant damage or failed to reach Israeli territory.
"In recent months, the Houthi terrorist regime in Yemen has conducted scores of aerial attacks against the State of Israel, including with surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs. The Houthi regime serves as a key proxy of the Iranian axis in the Middle East that is responsible for destabilizing the region and disrupting global shipping routes," the IDF said.
On Friday, Israeli fighter jets hit Houthi targets on Yemen’s western coast and inland, the IDF stated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Friday afternoon that “just as we promised, the Houthis are paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us,” according to an English translation of his remarks provided by his office.
It was the third time that the IDF had directly attacked Houthi targets in Yemen in the past month.
CENTCOM commander visits USS Harry S. Truman
Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), visited the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Sunday.
Since December 2024, the carrier has been operating in the Red Sea against the Houthi threat.
He praised the crew's professionalism and emphasized the carrier's role in regional stability, maritime security, and showcasing U.S. naval power. The carrier strike group has conducted multiple operations in response to Houthi attacks on U.S. and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
An Israeli woman was lightly injured on Sunday night by Palestinian rock-throwers near the village of Hares, located close to Ariel in Samaria.
The victim was evacuated to the hospital with minor facial injuries caused by flying shards of glass.
Several additional vehicles were damaged in the attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which launched a search for the assailants.
On Saturday, Israeli forces arrested two Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who had been on their way to carry out a shooting in the “immediate future.”
PIJ operatives Ahmad Zaqarna, 21, and Tariq Abu Zayd, 25, from Qabatiya in the Jenin area, were arrested in Nablus (Shechem) with two loaded M-16 rifles, ammunition and military gear in their possession.
Questioning by Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) agents indicated that the terrorists were on their way to carry out a shooting, the statement noted, adding that the suspects' interrogation was ongoing.
In the wake of the Jan. 6 terrorist shooting that killed three Israelis in the Arab village of al-Funduq, just west of Nablus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that he had approved “a series of additional offensive and defensive actions in Judea and Samaria.”
The terrorists who carried out that attack, killing Rachel Cohen, 73, Aliza Rice, 70, and Israel Police Master Sgt. Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, 35, remain at large.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the attack “an act of war” that will be “met with a decisive response."
“We will strike the terrorists and their dispatchers and take firm action against the localities that harbored them. Palestinian terrorism will not be tolerated, and Jewish blood will not be spilled in vain,” Katz said during a visit to the attack site.
The Israeli Air Force has carried out more than 100 strikes in Judea and Samaria since the Swords of Iron war began on Oct. 7, 2023, killing at least 165 armed terrorists.
Israel will not allow Judea and Samaria to become like the Gaza Strip or Southern Lebanon, Katz vowed on Sunday, adding: "Anyone who engages in terrorism like in Gaza will be treated like Gaza.”
A government body in the United Kingdom that deals with registered charities on Thursday demanded that a Chabad-affiliated entity that raised money for an Israel Defense Forces soldier take “remedial measures” or face regulatory action.
Chabad Rabbi Menachem Margolin, a prominent European Jewish leader, criticized the move and called it "unfortunate."
The Charities Commission issued the warning to Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited over its campaign in October 2023 to raise about £2,280 ($2,780) for a soldier serving in Israel. Roughly $,1000 went to the soldier’s pocket, and the rest was used to buy non-lethal gear for him, according to a statement by the Commission.
“It is not lawful, or acceptable, for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military,” said Helen Earner, director for regulatory services at the Charity Commission. “Our official warning requires the charity to set things right and is a clear message to other charities to stay true to their established purposes.”
Margolin, the director of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, criticized the Commission’s move and linked it to Chabad’s long history of withstanding pressure from unsympathetic officials in the Diaspora.
“The founder of the Chabad Movement was in a Russian prison 250 years ago because he sent donations to the poor of the Land of Israel, which was then under Turkish rule and was at war with the Russians on the grounds of supporting a foreign army,” noted Margolin.
“Aside from the importance of upholding the laws on proper management of nonprofits, the announcement by the Charity Commission is very unfortunate. The U.K. should encourage any assistance to the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces, which are engaged in protecting the lives of the Jews of the Land of Israel,” he said.
The Commission’s charity specified neither how it expected the Chabad charity to “set things right” nor what would happen if this did not happen.
“Any failure by the charity to implement the requirements in the Official Warning may lead to further regulatory action,” the statement read.
On Oct. 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists and Gaza civilians invaded Israel, murdering about 1,200 people and abducting 251. Unprepared, the IDF called up reservists and deployed troops in the border area. In the initial weeks of the fighting, numerous campaigns online and elsewhere were launched in the Jewish Diaspora to help soldiers individually and collectively.
Protesters spray-painted “Justice Free Gaza” in red on a synagogue wall in Bologna, Italy on Saturday night following demonstrations sparked by the death of an Italian-Egyptian man during a police chase on Nov. 23, 2024.
Demonstrations took place in several cities, including Rome, Milan, Brescia and Bologna, in memory of Ramy Elgaml, 19, who was riding on the back of a moped driven by his friend Fares Bouzidi during a 5-mile long police pursuit.
Bouzidi, 22, of Tunisian descent, failed to stop at a police roadblock and crashed into a pole with a police car in pursuit, killing Elgaml. Bouzidi, who was arrested for complicity in homicide, claimed the police car touched the moped.
Video of part of the November chase was released a few days ago. It prompted the protests, which were organized by the Italian Anti-Racist Coordination and joined by student groups and other associations, Euro News reported.
The report noted that it was not clear from the video if the police car had bumped the moped.
In Bologna, demonstrators stormed the local synagogue. Along with the "free Gaza" graffiti they wrote Elgaml's name.
Israeli Ambassador to Italy Jonathan Peled decried the graffiti as a "serious antisemitic attack."
"I express my closeness and solidarity to the Jewish community of Bologna, following the attacks committed against the local Synagogue. A serious anti-Semitic attack, which must be condemned with absolute firmness," he tweeted.
Daniele De Paz, president of the Jewish community of Bologna, said the municipality shared the blame for the vandalism, as it had displayed the Palestinian flag at City Hall, giving backing to those seeking to attack the Jewish community.
"Mayor Matteo Lepore must remove that flag as a matter of public safety. Words of solidarity are not enough. It is a position that Bologna cannot afford. It is a huge problem that must be overcome because the level of tension is too high," said De Paz, according to Rai News 24.
The Jewish community criticized the flying of the Palestinian flag at city hall in June. The mayor's decision was "not a gesture of peace" in a climate of increasing violence, De Paz said at the time.
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni on Sunday condemned the rioting in Rome.
"Between firecrackers, smoke bombs and assaults, yesterday evening in Rome we witnessed yet another despicable episode of disorder and chaos by the usual troublemakers who took to the streets not to demonstrate for a cause, but out of pure vengeance," she tweeted.
"It's not possible to use a tragedy to legitimize violence. Our solidarity goes to the police, together with well wishes to the officers who were wounded. We are on your side," she added.
Several police officers were injured in Bologna and Rome amid the protests.
