Israel’s biggest trade union has said hundreds of thousands of people joined the general strike it called to put pressure on the government to agree a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.
Businesses, schools and transport were disrupted before a court ordered everyone to return to work, ruling that Histadrut’s strike was largely political.
Thousands also took part in fresh protests called by hostages’ families to express their anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to bring home their loved ones after almost 11 months.
Tensions have been running high since the bodies of six hostages were found on Saturday. Israel said they were shot and killed by Hamas.
Many accuse Mr Netanyahu of blocking a deal to prioritise his own political survival – a claim he rejects.
His far-right allies have threatened to pull out the coalition government, undermining his chances of staying in power, if he were to accept a deal tied to a permanent ceasefire before Hamas was destroyed.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 40,780 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release the 97 hostages still being held, including 33 who are presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
When asked by reporters in Washington if he thought Mr Netanyahu was doing enough to secure an agreement, US President Joe Biden replied: “No.”
He spoke after meeting American mediators who he said “very close” to presenting what US media described as a final proposal to Israel and Hamas.
