Hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined a one-day general strike on Sunday in support of hostages held in Gaza. The strike was called for by the families of the 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. They have been in captivity in Gaza for 681 days.
Protesters blocked roads across the country and burned tyres as they urged the government to seal a ceasefire with Hamas that includes the release of all the hostages. At least 38 people were arrested as police used water cannons to clear the roads. A number of clashes occurred between protesters and irate motorists caught in traffic jams. However, drivers were generally supportive, beeping their horns in solidarity.
At Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, a giant Israeli flag displaying the faces of the hostages served as the focal point for demonstrations.
Released hostage Arbel Yehoud, whose boyfriend is still held captive, warned that military pressure will not free those still in Gaza. “I know firsthand what it’s like to be in captivity. I know that military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back — it only kills them,” she said. “The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”
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The parents of Alon Ohel, who is still held hostage in Gaza, called for the government to hold a referendum on a hostage deal.
The strike organisers said Sunday’s protest marked the first stage of stepped-up activity to press for a ceasefire. Plans are under way to set up a protest encampment along the Gaza border fence to continue the struggle for the hostages’ release.
The protests were disrupted in the afternoon when a missile fired from Yemen set off sirens, sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters. The missile was intercepted.
The Histadrut trade union federation refused to endorse the strike, arguing that it would politicise the struggle to free the hostages. Most companies and shopping centres operated normally. However, many workers, particularly from the high-tech sector and academia, took the day off to join the protests.
President Yitzhak Herzog joined the protesters in Tel Aviv, saying: “All of Israel wants the hostages back home.” He urged the international media and decision makers to tell Hamas there will be no ceasefire until they release the hostages.
Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting that the strike was a mistake.
“Those who call to end the war delay the hostages’ release and guarantee that the horrors of October 7th will return,” he said in a reference to the Hamas attack on southern Israel in 2023. “To advance the release of the hostages and to guarantee that Gaza will not pose a threat to Israel anymore, the job must get done and Hamas must be defeated,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces are continuing preparations to conquer Gaza city and expel more than 800,000 residents further south. Thousands of residents have already fled the city’s southern Zeitoun neighbourhood, home to about 50,000 people, after days of continuous Israeli bombardment.
The Israeli military said it would again begin allowing tents to be brought into Gaza by aid agencies for the new war refugees.
Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s planned Gaza relocation plan constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area. The group termed Israel’s planned deployment of tents in the southern Gaza Strip a “blatant deception.”
More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. 1,200 were killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel and 250 others taken hostage.
