The head of the Israel trade union, Arnon David, has called for a nationwide strike targeted at mounting pressure on the Israeli government to secure a ceasefire deal and the release of 101 hostages left in Gaza.
The labour leader’s call for industrial action came barely 24 hours after a massive protest, with over 500,000 demonstrators sweeping the streets of Israel, following six hostages’ death in Gaza.
Amid the ongoing agitation for Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to sign a path that frees Israel captives, David noted that the strike would further put pressure on the country’s leader to embrace their recommendation.
The Israeli military had earlier recovered six hostages’ bodies from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as a polio vaccination campaign began in the war-shattered Palestinian territory and violence flared in the occupied West Bank.
According to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israeli health ministry spokesperson, a forensic examination determined they were “murdered by Hamas terrorists in several shots at close range” 48-72 hours previously.
“The bodies of hostages Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino have been returned to Israel” he added.
However, Netanyahu has been summoned by families related to the hostages in Gaza, asking him to take responsibility and explain what was holding up an agreement.
The deceased six hostages were murdered after going through 11 months of abuse, torture, and starvation inside Hamas captivity.
The delay in signing the deal has led to their deaths and those of many other hostages,” it said.
Netanyahu’s office said he had spoken to the family of Lobanov, whose body was among those recovered, apologizing and expressing “deep sorrow”.
But the family of Gat said they refused to speak to the prime minister and instead called on Israelis to join protests.
“Take to the streets and shut down the country until everyone returns.
They can still be saved,” Gat’s cousin, Gil Dickmann, wrote on X.
Reacting to the development, U.S. President Joe Biden, who faulted the killing of 23-year-old Israeli American Goldberg-Polin and the other hostages, described the development as devastating and outrageous.
“Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” he said in a statement.
Speaking to reporters from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, he said he was “still optimistic” about a ceasefire deal.
Months of stop-start negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have failed to secure a deal, despite increased U.S. pressure and repeated trips by top officials to the region.
However, Senior Hamas officials said that Israel in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was to blame for the deaths.
“Netanyahu is responsible for the killing of Israeli prisoners,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. “The Israelis should choose between Netanyahu and the deal.”
Netanyahu, who faces growing calls to end nearly 11 months of war with a deal for a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages, said Israel would not rest until it caught those responsible.
“Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal,” he said.
Israel’s assault on Gaza began after Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages in attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s offensive has leveled much of the enclave of 2.3 million people, and the Gaza health ministry says at least 40,738 Palestinians have been killed.
Displaced people are living in dire conditions with inadequate shelter and a hunger crisis ravaging the refuge camps housing them.
