Israeli labor strike disrupts flights, buses

Protesters rally outside the Defence Ministry, Tel Aviv, September 1, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

JERUSALEM—Municipal services in several Israeli districts were disrupted on Monday after the country’s biggest labor union launched a general strike to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into agreeing to a deal to bring Israeli hostages in Gaza home.

The head of the Histadrut union, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers across the economy, called for the strike on Sunday after the bodies of six hostages were recovered in a tunnel in southern Gaza.

The return of the hostages, who were shot dead between 48 to 72 hours before being found by Israeli forces, according to health ministry estimates, triggered deep shock in Israel, prompting at least half a million people to take to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in protest on Sunday.

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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sought to have the strike call dismissed by Israel’s Labor Court, which was due to meet midmorning but numerous sectors were affected by the strike call.

Reuters

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