General strike looms in Israel after night of protests

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

General strike looms in ******* after night of protests

******* is braced for a general strike as protests continue over what is seen as the government’s ******** to secure the release of hostages held by ******.

Tensions have been running high since the bodies of six hostages were recovered by soldiers on Saturday, causing national outrage.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of people rallied across ******* accusing PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to reach a deal over the remaining hostages taken by ****** during the 7 October *******.

The call for a one-day strike on Monday was issued by *******’s biggest labour union, Histadrut, whose leader, Arnon Bar-David, said the country was getting “body bags instead of a deal”.

The government has reacted angrily to the union’s action, with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accusing it of playing into the hands of ******.

It is unclear how widely the stoppage will be observed, after several cities and municipalities announced they would not take part.

However, the call for a nationwide strike is the latest sign that public anger at the latest ******** killings is not about to subside.

The ******* Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier that the six bodies were found on Saturday in an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of southern Gaza.

The hostages were identified as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt Ori Danino.

The IDF said they had been ******* shortly before its troops reached them on Saturday.

This triggered the demonstrations on Sunday, with crowds accusing the government and Mr Netanyahu personally of failing to save the remaining hostages.

Sunday’s protests were largely peaceful – but crowds broke through police lines, blocking a major highway in Tel Aviv.

Some people scaled buses and bins to gain a vantage point over the march, while others surrounded someone wearing a mask of Mr Netanyahu, chanting: “Alive, alive, we want them alive.”

One demonstrator held a sign which read: “You are the head. You are to blame”.

Protesters – many clad in ******** flags – also descended on Jerusalem and other ******** cities.

The demonstrations have overshadowed humanitarian efforts in Gaza, where the UN said on Sunday that the first full day of

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

against polio had been successful.

The rollout relies on a series of localised pauses in fighting between ******** forces and ****** fighters, and the first three-day window began on Sunday.

It is not clear how many hostages remain in Gaza. ****** kidnapped 251 people and ******* 1,200 others during its ******* in southern ******* on 7 October 2023.

The ******** military responded by launching a ground and air offensive in Gaza to ******** ******.

More than 40,738 people have been ******* in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s ******-run health ministry.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#General #strike #looms #******* #night #protests

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up