Mass Protests Ignite Major Labor Strike in Israel Over Hostage Deal Demands

 A widespread labor strike began in Israel on Monday, demanding the country’s government accept a deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, after massive protests erupted across the country on Sunday night following the deaths of six hostages captured by Hamas.

The one-day general strike was called by Israel’s largest labor union Histadrut, with its chair Arnon Bar-David saying a hostage deal was “more important than anything else” and blamed “political considerations” for the lack of a deal so far.

According to Haaretz, hospitals across the country are operating at a limited weekend capacity, and the country’s largest airport is closed for most departures starting at 8:00 a.m. local time—with several other sectors including banking and local transportation also impacted by the strike.

On Sunday night, hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered on the streets in several major Israeli cities to pressure the country’s government to agree to a cease-fire deal to secure the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza.

Thousands gathered in front of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, while protesters in Tel Aviv marched with coffins to highlight the deaths of the hostages.

Netanyahu appeared to face pushback from within his government, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant criticizing the push to maintain Israeli military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border—which has emerged as a major sticking point in the cease-fire talks.

Netanyahu addressed the hostage deaths on Sunday, saying: “Whoever murders hostages - does not want a deal. Whoever murdered the hostages has blood on their hands. We will pursue you, we will find you and we will settle accounts with you.”

101. That is the number of remaining hostages that Hamas continues to hold in captivity in Gaza, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. This number includes around 35 hostages who are believed to be dead.

The IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages from the Gaza Strip on Saturday—including 23-year-old U.S. national Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The bodies of all six hostages were found in a tunnel under Rafah, the IDF said, adding that they were killed shortly before the bodies were found. On Sunday, the Israeli Health Ministry said a forensic examination showed the hostages had been shot at close range. President Joe Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” by Goldberg-Polin’s death adding “It is as tragic as it is reprehensible.” Biden said Hamas’ leader would “pay for these crimes” and his administration will “keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”

Sunday night’s mass protests were one of the biggest Israel has witnessed since the start of the war in Gaza. The protestors' anger has been directed at Netanyahu who has been accused of hampering a cease-fire and hostage release deal for political gain. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of some of the hostages in Gaza, blamed the deaths of the six hostages on the Israeli prime minister and his allies in government saying: “You abandoned them! Their blood is on your hands. You could have saved them; they were alive. By voting against the deal, you sealed their fate!”