A rare general strike in Israel to protest the failure to return hostages held in Gaza led to disruptions around the country on Monday, while U.S. President Joe Biden added to the pressure by saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn't doing enough to reach a deal for a cease-fire.
The strike was ignored in some areas, reflecting deep political divisions in Israel after nearly 11 months of fighting.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis had poured into the streets late Sunday in grief and anger after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza. It appeared to be the largest protest since the start of the war. The families and much of the public blamed Netanyahu, saying the hostages could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas.
But others support Netanyahu’s drive to continue the campaign in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel and has caused massive death and destruction in the territory. Netanyahu says the assault will force militants to give in to Israeli demands, potentially facilitate rescue operations and ultimately annihilate the group.
Biden spoke to reporters as he arrived at the White House for a Situation Room meeting with advisers involved in negotiating a deal. Asked if Netanyahu was doing enough, Biden responded, “No.”
He insisted that negotiators remain “very close” to a deal, adding, “Hope springs eternal.”
Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out months of negotiations over a cease-fire by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over two strategic corridors in Gaza. Hamas has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants — broadly the terms called for under an outline for deal put forward by Biden in July.
Netanyahu has pledged “total victory” over Hamas and blames it for the failure of the negotiations, which have dragged on for much of this year.
Israeli media have reported deep differences between Netanyahu and top security officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who say the time is ripe for a cease-fire.
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An official confirmed a shouting match between Gallant and Netanyahu at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday, where Netanyahu held a vote in favor of maintaining control over the Philadelphi corridor, a stretch of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt that Israel says is used by Hamas to smuggle weapons — a claim Egypt and Hamas deny.
Gallant cast the lone vote against the proposal, saying Netanyahu was favoring border arrangements over the lives of hostages. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting. Gallant on Sunday called on the security cabinet to overturn the decision.
Khalil al-Hayya, the Hamas official leading the negotiations, told the Qatari network Al Jazeera late Sunday that Netanyahu had deemed keeping the Philadelphi corridor “more important” than winning the hostages' release.
Al-Hayya also said Hamas had offered “great flexibility,” including reducing its demand for 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for each captive Israeli soldier to 50, and from 250 Palestinian prisoners or each Israeli civilian hostage to 30. He accused Israel of introducing new conditions including increasing the number of prisoners who would be deported upon release and banning the release of elderly or ill prisoners serving life sentences.
Israel said the six hostages found dead in Gaza were killed by Hamas shortly before Israeli forces arrived in the tunnel where they were held. The Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies determined the hostages were shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.
Three were reportedly among those who would have been released in the first phase of the cease-fire proposal outlined by Biden in July.
Thousands attended the funeral Monday for one of the six, Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. He was one of the best-known hostages, with his parents leading a high-profile campaign for the captives’ release, meeting with Biden and Pope Francis and addressing the Democratic National Convention last month.
The general strike, called by Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, ended early after a labor court accepted a petition from the government calling it politically motivated.
It was the first such strike since the start of the war, aiming to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking and health care. Some flights at Israel’s main international airport, Ben-Gurion, either departed early or were slightly delayed.
“There’s no need to punish the whole state of Israel because of what is happening, overall, it is a victory for Hamas,” said one passenger, Amrani Yigal.
But in Jerusalem, resident Avi Lavi said that "I think this is fair, the time has come to stand and to wake up, to do everything for the hostages to come back alive."
The Histadrut said banks, some large malls and government offices had joined the strike, as well as some public transit services, although there did not appear to be major disruptions.
Municipalities in Israel’s populated central area, including Tel Aviv, participated. Others, including Jerusalem, did not.
Some 250 hostages were taken on Oct. 7. More than 100 were freed during a cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Eight have been rescued by Israeli forces. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.
Roughly 100 hostages remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were militants.
The war has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and plunged the besieged territory into a humanitarian catastrophe, including new fears of a polio outbreak.
Associated Press writers Julia Frankel and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed.
