Israel has announced a nationwide general strike set for tomorrow over the failure to release hostages held captive in Gaza, stating that a ceasefire deal ‘is more important than anything else’ while protests erupt in Tel Aviv.
Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David made the announcement on Sunday, adding the action will begin at 6am tomorrow with decisions beyond Monday to be made at a later time.
The move comes after the bodies of six Israeli hostages who were snatched from the Supernova music festival in southern Israel on October 7 were found in a Gaza tunnel on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference following a meeting with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Bar-David 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.
Israel has announced a nationwide general strike set to begin on Monday in a bid to encourage a ceasefire deal. Pictured: Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages taken captive in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants protest outside Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem on September 1, 2024
People attend a demonstration calling for the immediate return of hostages held in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas
Protests have erupted in Tel Aviv following the discovery of the bodies of six Israeli hostages in Gaza on Saturday
Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David made the strike announcement on Sunday
‘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’.
After conversing with several security officials at the event, the labor leader said he believes a ceasefire deal has not yet been reached ‘because of political considerations’, claiming ‘we are no longer one people; we are camp against camp… we need to bring back the State of Israel’.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum joined the chorus after earlier calling on Israeli citizens to ‘join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete shutdown of the country’.
The group welcomed Bar-David’s decision, stating: ‘The economy and the country will stop tomorrow, to apply pressure on the cabinet and the prime minister to end the abandonment, save the living hostages, and return the 101 hostages in a deal’.
As a result of the nationwide strike, restaurants, cinemas, and other popular venues will close early.
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.
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.
Some celebrity chefs and culinary icons in Israel also came forward on social media to declare their support and call on other businesses to join them in the strike.
Israeli chef Haim Cohen wrote to his employees on Sunday: ‘We woke up to a black morning, without a ray of sunshine in the skies.
‘We will not work this evening. We will close the kitchens to… support the families of the hostages’.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin is among six hostages whose bodies were recovered Saturday. He was among victims taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 massacre
Eden Yerushalmi was also abducted from the Nova music festival
Almog Sarusi, 26, was enjoying the rave when Hamas terrorists attacked
Israel’s international airport will also be suspending operations starting at 8am on Monday morning.
Several local councils have also offered their support, with some businesses encouraging their employees to join their protesting families.
The three major Israeli news channels, Channels 11, 12, and 13, announced changes to their schedules, announcing the postponement of reality TV shows and other entertainment programmes so they can air crucial news broadcasts and cover the funerals of the deceased hostages.
On Sunday, thousands of people gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, shouting ‘Murderer!’ and demanding the return of all the hostages with the slogan, ‘Everyone! Now!’.
The mass demonstration erupted outside the presidential building in a bid to apply pressure on the government to finally secure a hostage release deal.
It comes after six hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise October 7 terror attack on Israel were found ‘brutally killed moments before we (IDF) reached them,’ on Saturday, IDF International Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said on X.
The IDF identified the hostages 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.
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.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also vowed to ‘settle the score’ with Hamas after the military discovered the hostages’ bodies.
‘Those who kill hostages do not want an agreement’ for a Gaza truce, Netanyahu said in a statement, telling Hamas leaders that ‘we will hunt you down, we will catch you and we will settle the score’.
Carmel Gat was visiting her family in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7
Ori Danino was taken captive by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival on October 7
Alex Lobanov, 26, was the head barman at the festival
The aftermath of an attack on the Supernova music Festival by Hamas gunmen, October 9
He added that ‘those who kill hostages do not want an agreement’ for a Gaza truce.
Netanyahu also said he is mourning for the hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza, and accused Hamas of ‘unimaginable cruelty.’
‘Along with all the citizens of Israel, I was shocked to the depths of my soul by the terrible cold-blooded murder of six of our abductees,’ he said.
‘I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our abductees and I say to their leaders — your blood is on your head. We will not rest and we will not be silent. We will pursue you, we will catch up with you and we will bring you to account’.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is also urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas to bring the remaining hostages home from Gaza.
In a post on X, Gallant said it’s ‘too late for the abductees who were murdered in cold blood’.
‘The abductees who remain in the captivity of Hamas must be returned home.’
The bloody 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.
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