Israel has been paralyzed by a nationwide general strike after the country erupted in protests over Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to reach a hostage release deal with Hamas.
Trade unions announced the strike on Sunday, which began today, leaving Israel facing massive disruptions and closures, including at its international airport.
The strike was called after the bodies of six hostages kidnapped during the October 7 massacre were found in a Gaza tunnel on Saturday.
On Sunday, Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, called for a general strike on Monday in an attempt to shut down and disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, healthcare and the country’s main airport.
Airlines at Israel’s main international airport, Ben-Gurion, suspended outbound flights between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., and images from the scene showed large crowds of people waiting for updates next to their luggage.
Israel has come to a standstill after a nationwide lockdown was announced for Monday in an attempt to pressure Netanyahu into reaching a hostage release deal.
Passengers wait for flights at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport during a nationwide strike on September 2, 2024
An Israeli protester carries a sign in Hebrew reading ‘Netanyahu’s legacy’ at a mass rally last night condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the hostages.
According to the Israel Airports Authority, outbound flights departed early or were slightly delayed, while inbound flights continued as normal during that time.
Banks, some large shopping centres and government offices were closed due to the strike and public transport was limited.
Municipalities in Israel’s populated central area, including Tel Aviv, took part in the strike, leading to the reduction of school hours and the cancellation of public nurseries and kindergartens.
At a press conference following a meeting with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Histadrut Labor Federation head Arnon Bar-David made the strike announcement.
He said: “They are killing Jews in the tunnels in Gaza. This is incomprehensible and it must be stopped.”
He continued chillingly: “Instead of an agreement, they are giving us body bags. I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention can move those who need to be moved.”
‘I call on the people of Israel to take to the streets tonight and tomorrow and for everyone to participate in the strike.
“It is impossible to continue to stand by and do nothing while our children are being killed in the tunnels in Gaza… an agreement is necessary, an agreement is more important than anything else.
“That’s why I’ve decided that starting tomorrow the entire Israeli economy will go on strike.”
People block a road as they protest in Tel Aviv calling for a deal for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip
Protesters set a fire on a main street during a demonstration demanding a deal on hostages and denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An Israeli protester carries a sign in Hebrew reading “Netanyahu’s legacy” at a mass demonstration condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of hostages.
The head of the Histadrut Labor Federation, Arnon Bar-David, made the strike announcement on Sunday.
As a result of the nationwide strike, restaurants, cinemas and other popular venues will close early today.
A leading Israeli law firm also said it will support the protests by offering legal assistance to anyone attacked by Israeli police during their demonstration of activism.
Tel Aviv’s mayor publicly supported the strike decision and said the municipality will join tomorrow’s action, in a post on X.
Ron Huladi goes on to accuse the Israeli government of “abandoning” the six hostages whose bodies were discovered in Gaza, adding that the planned strike is a “sign of solidarity” with the victims and their families.
He called on people to take to the streets of Tel Aviv from morning until noon.
However, many municipalities, including Jerusalem, did not participate in the strike. Israeli media reported that the state had appealed to a labor court to call off the strike, claiming it was politically motivated.
The move comes after mass demonstrations on Sunday turned into what are believed to be the largest since the start of the war, with organisers estimating that up to 500,000 people took part in nationwide events and the main rally held in Tel Aviv.
Tens of thousands of devastated Israelis took to the streets overnight, blocking roads and carrying signs demanding that Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu reach a deal to return the roughly 100 remaining hostages held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Netanyahu has vowed a “total victory” over Hamas and blames it for the failure of negotiations, which have dragged on for much of this year.
The military 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 ceasefire agreement.
The aftermath of the attack on the Supernova music festival by Hamas gunmen on October 9
Israel said Hamas killed the six hostages shortly before Israeli forces reached the tunnel where they were being held.
Three of them, including an Israeli-American, were reported to be due to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire proposal discussed in July, but the Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies had determined the hostages were shot at point-blank range and died on Thursday or Friday.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas, saying that “whoever kills hostages does not want a deal,” but a senior Hamas official, Izzat El-Reshiq, said Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was responsible for the deaths.
The Israeli military identified the dead as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Carmel Gat, 39, Almog Sarusi, 26, Alex Lubnov, 26, and Staff Sergeant Ori Danino, 25.
They were among 251 hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel by Palestinian militants. The Times of Israel reported that autopsies showed the hostages were killed within the past 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 released a video showing him alive, sparking protests in Israel.
He was one of the most high-profile 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 said Sunday he was “devastated and outraged” by the deaths.
“This is both tragic and reprehensible. Let us not fool ourselves, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes,” he said.
“And we will continue to work day and night to reach an agreement that will secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
The brutal war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7 when the Palestinian Islamist group attacked an Israeli music festival in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 wounded in Israel’s counter-offensives in Gaza, the Hamas-run enclave’s health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.