The head of the Israeli Histadrut trade union federation, Arnon Bar-David, announced a general strike on Monday to pressure the government to reach an agreement to release Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid had appealed to join the strike.
Arnon Bar-David, head of the Histadrut union representing hundreds of thousands of people, called on all civilian workers to join the strike and said that Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, a major air transport hub Israelwill be closed from Monday at 8 a.m.
Bar-David said the strike would only last on Monday for now, but criticized the prime minister's government. Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to rescue Israeli hostages. On Sunday, the Israeli army said that in a tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip The bodies of six hostages kidnapped by Hamas almost a year ago have been recovered and identified.
Opposition leader calls for protest
Earlier, the leader of the Israeli opposition appealed to join the protest. Yair Lapid.
Lapid called on “every Israeli whose heart broke this morning” to join a protest in Tel Aviv on Sunday. He also appealed to the Histadrut union and business owners to join a nationwide strike.
“Netanyahu and (his) death cabinet decided not to save the hostages. I call on the Histadrut, employers and local authorities to close the economy,” Lapid said, as quoted by the Haaretz newspaper.
Several restaurants and a cinema chain in Tel Aviv said they would close their doors early to encourage customers to take part in the protest. The nearby cities of Kfar Sava and Givatayim said their officials would take part in the strike.
According to the Times of Israel, 97 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, remain in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army has confirmed the deaths of at least 33 of those people.
Hamas attack on Israel PAP/Reuters – Maciej Zieliński
Main image source: PAP/EPA/ATEF SAFADI