Israel brought to a near halt as strikes and protests pressure Netanyahu to secure a Gaza hostage deal | CNN (2024)

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Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to Israel’s streets for a second consecutive day, organizers said, as the country was brought to a near-halt by a general strike over anger at the government’s failure to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.

It comes as public fury grows following the killing in Gaza of six hostages who had been seized by militants during Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

The country’s largest labor union, known as Histadrut, threatened to shut down the“entire” economy, with its chairman Arnon Bar-David warning on Sunday that Israel was “in a downward spiral, and we don’t stop receiving body bags.”

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport halted departures and arrivals of flights for just over two hours on Monday starting at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET), though flights later resumed.

The general strike was the largest in Israel since March 2023, when a similar mass walkout over Netanyahu’s controversial attempts to overhaul the country’s judiciary brought much of the economy to a standstill.

The nationwide strikes – which ended on Monday at 2:30 p.m. local time (7:30 a.m. ET) following a Tel Aviv court order – reflect growing anger toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister has been accused of stalling efforts for a deal by some hostage families and their supporters.

Passengers wait for flights at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv during a nationwide strike on September 2, 2024.

Half a million Israelis took to the streets in multiple cities on Sunday, protest organizers said, in one of the biggest nationwide protests since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Hamas. Hundreds of thousands turned out again on Monday, according to union Histadrut, with Israeli police arresting seven demonstrators in Tel Aviv for “violating public order and disrupting traffic.”

More than 100 hostages, including 35 believed to be dead, are still being held in Gaza. The vast majority of those hostages were taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, when some 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken captive.

Three of the six hostages found dead, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, had been expected to be released in an eventual ceasefire, Israeli officials told CNN. Autopsies showed they were shot at short range on Thursday or Friday morning. Israeli forces announced the recovery of their bodies from an underground tunnel in Rafah on Saturday.

The discovery of the six hostage bodies has thrown negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal into question.

‘Netanyahu has made it impossible’

In Jerusalem, protesters called for Netanyahu to resign, while during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lambasted the Israeli government for what he said was prioritizing control of a key border area known as the Philadelphi corridor over a deal to free hostages, calling it a “moral disgrace.”

Meanwhile, an Israeli diplomat told CNN they were “furious” after the six hostages were killed in Gaza. “My government had a responsibility to do whatever it takes to save them and it failed them and their families. We owe them an apology.”

The relative of one of the hostages who was shot dead in southern Gaza also blamed Netanyahu for their deaths. Gil Dickmann, the cousin of Carmel Gat, told CNN that the Israeli government “cold-bloodedly” crossed a “red line” by prioritizing the corridor over the lives of the hostages.

“We know that Hamas has agreed to a deal at some point, and Israel was the one putting on more and more terms and actually postponing the deal,” Dickmann said on Monday. “Right now, we know the decisions that our Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it impossible for Carmel and other hostages to return and put their lives in great danger, and that’s what killed them.”

Splits within the cabinet over the conduct of the war have become increasingly public and rancorous in recent months, reflecting deep divisions at the top of Israel’s government.

Just on Monday, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he was using his power to prevent a “reckless deal” and ensure “that there will be no negotiations at all.”

He was speaking to members of Gvura, a right-wing organization representing the families ofIsraeli soldiers killed in Gaza.

But American officials described new urgency in reaching a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said while meeting the families of Americans held hostage that “the next few days will be critical” in the push to free those still held by Hamas.

Alongside the strikes, the funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the six hostages found dead, was held in Jerusalem on Monday. Speaking at the ceremony, Jon Goldberg-Polin said he hoped his son’s death would be “the fuel that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages.”

“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you. You would not have failed you. You would have pushed harder for justice,”he said. “You would have worked to understand the other, to bridge differences.”

“The 23 years of life that we had with you were a blessing. We now will work to make your legacy a similar blessing,” Goldberg-Polin said. “You were a really great guy. I love you.”

Strike hits public services, schools

As well as an impact on flights, some Israeli municipalities said they joined the strike, including Tel Aviv and Haifa, according to a list from the Histadrut outlining who joined the action as well as statements from some of the cities.

The list also includes government ministries that impact a wide range of public services, the document shows, including parts of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Interior Ministry, and others. CNN has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities worked on a weekend schedule and on an emergency basis, according to the statement.

Israeli protestors block the Ayalon freeway during a mass protest in Tel Aviv, Israel on September 1, 2024.

The country’s teachers’ union said it would not join the strike, according to a statement from the union, though support staff at schools did.

However, Israel’s biggest universities joined the strike, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.

Netanyahu has vowed “there will be a strong reaction” to the deaths of the six hostages, according to an Israeli official. “The intention of the PM now is to hurt Hamas in a way Israel hasn’t done before,” the official told CNN.

CNN’s Lauren Izso, Tara John,Michael Rios,Eugenia Yosef, Duarte Mendonca, Jo Shelley, Chris Liakos and Kaitlin Collins contributed reporting.