Thousands of protesters took to the streets across Israel on Sunday, launching a nationwide general strike backed by the families of the hostages taken by Hamas — while demanding a cease-fire deal to free the captives and end the war in Gaza.
Demonstrators gathered in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and on major highways around the major Israeli cities, blocking the streets in defiance of the ongoing conflict, which escalated last week after lawmakers approved plans to invade Gaza City.
At least 30 protesters were arrested Sunday after flooding the streets, some burning cars and tires on roadways, sparking clashes with police trying to reopen the thoroughfares, The Times of Israel reported.
The mass strike and protest was called by the October Council, a group composed of the families of the 251 people who were kidnapped and the more than 1,200 killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
The group has repeatedly expressed fears that an expansion to the war in Gaza would only put the lives of their loved ones at risk after more than 680 days in captivity. Hamas is believed to still be holding some 50 hostages in Gaza, of whom just about 20 are believed to still be alive.
The families’ desperate pleas were answered by hundreds of local businesses, schools and authorities, all of whom announced that they were either joining the strike directly, or allowing their employees to take time off to protest if they so desired.
While Histadrut, Israel’s main labor union, said it would not be joining the strike, union chief Arnon Bar-David spoke at Sunday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square with a message of solidarity.
“This is not an issue of left and right. This is an issue of bringing people back, bringing back people who were kidnapped, kidnapped from their bed, kidnapped from their shift and from their tank,” Bar-David told demonstrators.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Sunday’s demonstrations made it clear that the overwhelming majority of people in the Jewish state back an end to the war with Hamas to save the remaining hostages.
“There’s no Israeli who doesn’t want them back home,” Herzog said. “We can argue about philosophies, but truly, the people of Israel want our brothers and sisters back home.”
Herzog also urged the international community to put pressure on Hamas to secure a cease-fire deal after the peace talks with the terror group were reignited last week.
While Hamas officials have claimed that they’re open to step down as the de facto governors of the Gaza Strip, the terror group has rejected all proposals that would see it disarm without first establishing a Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long-rejected any proposals for a two-state solution, claiming that recognizing one would only reward Hamas following the Oct. 7 assault.
Netanyahu reiterated over the weekend that the war will not end until Hamas is completely eradicated and the Gaza Strip is demilitarized, with the premier backing plans for full occupation of the Palestinian enclave and exodus of its 2 million refugees.
When it comes to the hostages, Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that military pressure is the best way to free the hostages — a sentiment rejected by former captive Arbel Yehoud, whose boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, is still being held by Hamas.
“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,” Yehoud told the crowd in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
“The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”
