Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to demand a ceasefire after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza. Israel’s largest trade union, Histadrut, has announced a general strike in response to this incident, marking one of the largest anti-government demonstrations since the Gaza conflict began nearly 11 months ago. The protests, which occurred on Sunday evening, included clashes between demonstrators and security forces. Many protesters shouted, “Now! Now!” and called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas to bring the remaining hostages home. Roads were blocked in Tel Aviv, and demonstrators gathered outside Netanyahu’s office in West Jerusalem.
In a statement from the Forum for Families of the Captured and Missing, which represents families of those held in Gaza, the deaths of the six hostages were described as a direct consequence of Netanyahu’s failure to secure an agreement to halt the fighting. “They were all murdered in recent days, having survived nearly 11 months of abuse, torture, and starvation in Hamas’ captivity,” said the forum.
Gil Dickmann, a cousin of Carmel Gat, whose body was among those returned, urged Israelis to put more pressure on their government. “Go out into the streets and shut down the country until everyone is home. They can still be saved,” Dickmann wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Gideon Levy, a journalist from Haaretz, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu has been defending the right-wing parties in his government, which oppose any concessions to Hamas. “They [the parties] do not care about the hostages,” he stated. Levy emphasized that the challenges to Netanyahu’s Likud Party are very limited, as the party continues to support him.
Meanwhile, Histadrut has called for a general strike to pressure the government into negotiating a ceasefire agreement. The union announced that Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main air transport hub, will be closed starting at 8 AM (05:00 GMT) on Monday, in a bid to paralyze or disrupt major sectors of the Israeli economy, including banking and healthcare.
“A deal is more important than anything else,” said Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David. He emphasized that he has the support of Israel’s leading manufacturers and entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector. This broad alliance among influential figures in Israel’s economy reflects public anger over the deaths of the hostages.
Israeli opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid has also expressed his support for the strike. Negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have dragged on for several months, and many blame Netanyahu for his inability to reach an agreement. According to Israeli military sources, at least 40,738 people have been killed and 94,154 injured in Gaza since October 7, while around 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on the same day.
Netanyahu’s government acknowledges the difficulties involved in freeing the remaining hostages and indicates that only a negotiated agreement could allow for a large-scale return of those detained.