Israel brought to near halt as strikes and protests pressure Netanyahu to secure Gaza hostage deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will continue to insist on maintaining an Israeli presence along Gaza’s border with Egypt as part of any cease-fire deal.Netanyahu’s demand to remain in the Philadelphi corridor has been a major sticking point in cease-fire talks with Hamas. The Islamic militant group is demanding a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal that would free the dozens of hostages it is holding in Gaza.Netanyahu said that if Israel agrees to withdraw, even temporarily, the international community will never allow it to return.“It determines our entire future,” he told a news conference. “This is the oxygen of Hamas.”Netanyahu is under heavy pressure to reach a deal after Hamas militants killed six hostages, shortly before Israeli troops reached the tunnel where they were being held.A general strike threatened to bring Israel to a halt on Monday, after the killing of six captives in Gaza sparked an outburst of public fury at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal.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 starting at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET), though flights later resumed.The general strike is 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 Netanyahu. The prime minister has been accused by critics of stalling efforts for a deal by some hostage families and their supporters.Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in multiple cities on Sunday in one of the biggest nationwide protests since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Hamas. In Tel Aviv, Israeli police arrested seven demonstrators on Monday 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’ Oct. 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.President Joe Biden said Monday Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas and added he is “close” to presenting a final deal to negotiators working to strike a hostage and ceasefire agreement in Gaza.“We’re very close to that,” he said when asked by CNN if he was planning to present a final proposal.The president’s comments came as he was returning to the White House to huddle with American officials who have been working to secure a deal that would pair a release of hostages held in Gaza with a pause in the fighting.Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, was also planning to attend the meeting before joining Biden for a campaign event in Pittsburgh.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 of Israeli 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.Strike hits public services, schoolsAs 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.The country’s teachers’ union has said it will 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.A spokesperson for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said the shutdown would be more extensive than previous measures taken since the beginning of the war, such as a partial strike in June. This shutdown included all activities except for exams.Ahead of Monday’s strike, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich asked the country’s attorney general to request urgent injunctions to prevent the planned action.In a letter addressed to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Smotrich argued that a strike would hurt the economy during wartime and set a dangerous precedent. A hearing is set to be held Monday morning.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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