Israel has been brought to a standstill due to a nationwide general strike after the country erupted with protests over Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to secure a hostage release deal with Hamas.
The unions on Sunday announced the strike which has today fallen into action – leaving Israel facing mass disruptions and closures, including at its international airport.
The strike action was called after the bodies of six hostages who were snatched during the October 7 massacre were found in a Gaza tunnel on Saturday.
On Sunday, Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, called for the general strike for Monday in a bid to shut down and disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care, and the country’s main airport.
Airlines at Israel’s main international airport Ben-Gurion were halting outgoing flights between 8:00 and 10:00am, with images from the scene showing large crowds of people waiting for updates alongside their luggage.
Israel has been brought to a standstill after a nationwide lockdown was announced yesterday for Monday in a bid to pressure Netanyahu to secure a hostage release deal
Passengers wait for flights at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv during a nationwide strike on September 2, 2024
An Israel protester carries a poster reading in Hebrew ‘Netanyahu’s Legacy’ at a mass demonstration last night condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the hostages
According to the Israel Airports Authority, outgoing flights either departed early or were slightly delayed, and arriving flights were continuing as usual during that time.
Banks, some large shopping centres and government offices were all closed due to the strike action and public transport was limited.
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Municipalities in Israel’s populated central area, including Tel Aviv, were participating in the strike, leading to shortened school hours and cancellations for public daycares and nurseries.
Speaking at a press conference following a meeting with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David made the strike announcement.
He said: ‘Jews are being murdered in the tunnels of Gaza. It is impossible to grasp and has to stop’.
He chillingly continued: ‘We are getting body bags instead of a deal. I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention might move those who need to be moved.
‘I call on the people of Israel to go out to the streets tonight and tomorrow and for everyone to take part in the strike.
‘It is impossible to stand by anymore and neglect as our children are murdered in the tunnels of Gaza… a deal needs to be reached, a deal is more important than anything else.
‘Therefore, I have decided that starting tomorrow, the entire Israeli economy will go on strike’.
People block a road as they protest, calling for a deal for the immediate release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas in Tel Aviv
Protesters set a fire on a main road during a demonstration demanding a hostages deal while denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
An Israel protester carries a poster reading in Hebrew ‘Netanyahu’s Legacy’ at a mass demonstration condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the hostages
Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David made the strike announcement on Sunday
As a result of the nationwide strike, restaurants, cinemas, and other popular venues are set to close early today.
A large Israeli law firm also said it will support the protests by offering legal assistance to anyone targeted by Israeli Police during their show of activism.
The mayor of Tel Aviv publicly backed the strike move, saying the municipality will join tomorrow’s action, in a post on X.
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Ron Huladi goes on to accuse the Israeli government of ‘abandoning’ the six hostages whose bodies were discovered on Gaza, while adding the planned strike action is a ‘sign of solidarity’ with the victims and their families.
He called for people to take to the streets of Tel Aviv from morning until noon.
Many municipalities, however, including Jerusalem, were not participating in the strike. Israeli media reported that the state appealed to a labor court to cancel the strike, saying it was politically motivated.
The movement comes after mass demonstrations on Sunday became what is thought to be the largest since the start of the war, with organisers estimating that up to 500,000 people joined nationwide events and the main rally held in Tel Aviv.
Tens of thousands of devastated Israelis pored into the streets overnight, blocking roads and carrying posters demanding Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu reach a deal to return the remaining roughly 100 hostages held in Gaza – a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Netanyahu has pledged ‘total victory’ over Hamas and blames it for the failure of the negotiations, which have dragged on for much of this year.
The army identified the hostages as (TL-R) Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, (BL-R) Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, and Almog Sarusi
People take part in a protest in Tel Aviv, demanding a cease-fire deal
The aftermath of an attack on the Supernova music Festival by Hamas gunmen, October 9
Israel said Hamas killed all six hostages shortly before Israeli forces arrived in the tunnel where they were being held.
Three of them, including an Israeli-American, were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal discussed in July, but the Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies had determined the hostages were shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas, saying ‘whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal’, but but Senior Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq said that Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire deal, was responsible for the deaths.
The Israeli military named the deceased as Hersh Goldberg-Polin – an Israeli-American – Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Carmel Gat, 39, Almog Sarusi, 26, Alex Lubnov, 26, and Master Sergeant Ori Danino, 25.
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They were among 251 hostages seized during the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militants with the Times of Israel reporting that autopsies have shown the hostages were murdered in the last 48 hours.
Goldberg-Polin, 23, a native of Berkeley, California, lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack and in April, Hamas issued a video that showed him alive, sparking protests in Israel.
He was one of the best-known hostages, and his parents had led a high-profile campaign for the captives’ release, meeting with President Joe Biden, Pope Francis, and addressing the Democratic National Convention last month.
Biden on Sunday said he was ‘devastated and outraged’ by the deaths.
‘It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes,’ he said.
‘And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.’
The brutal Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7 when the Palestinian Islamist group attacked an Israeli music festival in southern Israel, killing 1,200 and snatching around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
At least 40,691 Palestinians have now been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel’s counter offensives in Gaza, the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.