Israel’s first nationwide general strike since the Hamas attacks of 7 October, which was convened in support of a deal to free hostages held in Gaza, has ended after eight hours with a court order for workers to go back to their jobs.
The strike was organised amid widespread public anger at the government’s handling of the war in Gaza after the discovery of the bodies of six hostages at the weekend.
It was called by Israel’s largest trade union, Histadrut, from 6am on Monday, closing government and municipal offices as well as schools and many private businesses. Israel’s international airport, Ben Gurion, was reported to have shut down at 8am local time (6am BST) for two hours.
The Tel Aviv labour court ordered an end to the strike on Monday, ruling that it was politically motivated and had not been called for economic reasons.
The chair of Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David, said in a statement before the strike: “I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken.
“A deal is not progressing due to political considerations and this is unacceptable.”
The Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich – a far-right leader who opposes a truce in the war – was among those who had called on the court to move to ban the strike.
The strike action took place after tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday night, cutting off the Ayalon highway, the motorway running through the heart of Tel Aviv, and lighting fires in the streets. A few dozen police officers tried to contain the protest but were unable to push it back. Local media reported that 29 people had been arrested.
The union called the strike after the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group backed the idea in order to force the government to reach a deal for the return of the remaining hostages taken during Hamas’s attacks on 7 October. Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid also supported the move.
“Were it not for the delays, sabotage and excuses” in months of mediation efforts, the six hostages “would likely still be alive”, a statement from the group said, referring to the discovery of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino in tunnels “dozens of metres” underground during fighting in Rafah, southern Gaza.
The Histadrut union has not taken such drastic action since March 2023, over Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul plans.
The military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said all six hostages “were abducted alive on the morning of 7 October” and “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them”.
However, the discoveries pointing to Hamas executions did little to deflect widespread fury towards Benjamin Netanyahu and his rightwing coalition for failing to agree a US-backed hostages-for-peace deal with Hamas, which has been on the negotiating table since late May. The longtime Israeli leader has been repeatedly accused of stalling on a ceasefire deal for his own political gain.
On Sunday, Netanyahu asked the hostage Lobanov’s parents for “forgiveness for not succeeding in bringing Sasha back alive”.
Some analysts said the public outcry over the six hostages who died could signal a new level of political pressure on Netanyahu. “I think this is an earthquake. This isn’t just one more step in the war,” said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, associate fellow in the International Security Programme at Chatham House, shortly before Sunday’s protests.
The US president, Joe Biden, said he was “devastated and outraged” by the hostage deaths, but told reporters he was “still optimistic” a deal could be reached.
With Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
