The streets of Israel boiled with outrage Sunday night as thousands of grieving and furious citizens protested after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza. Chants of “Now! Now!” echoed as demonstrators demanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secure a cease-fire with Hamas and bring the remaining captives home.
In a dramatic move, Israel’s largest trade union, Histadrut, announced a general strike for Monday. The strike, the first since Hamas’s brutal October 7 attack, is expected to paralyze major sectors of the Israeli economy, including banking, healthcare, and the country’s primary airport.
Protests erupted across the nation as tens of thousands of Israelis blamed Netanyahu for his failure to negotiate a deal to return the hostages alive. The frustration has been building for months as negotiations dragged on, with many now holding Netanyahu directly responsible for the continued bloodshed.
One protester, who identified himself as Amos, tearfully declared, “I’m crying the cry of humanity,” as he joined thousands of others gathered outside the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem.
The Israeli military confirmed that all six hostages were killed just before Israeli forces arrived. Netanyahu vowed to hold Hamas accountable for their deaths, condemning the militants for what he called “cold-blooded murder.”
The six victims included Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, an Israeli-American who had been seized at a music festival during the October 7 attack. Despite losing part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack, a video in April showed him alive, sparking further protests across Israel.
Alongside Goldberg-Polin, the other hostages killed were Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; Alexander Lobanov, 33; and Carmel Gat, 40. Their bodies were recovered from a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza, near where another hostage had been rescued just last week.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesperson, confirmed that the army had no specific intelligence on the hostages’ whereabouts but found their bodies in the tunnel amidst ongoing combat. There was no doubt, he said, that Hamas was responsible for their deaths.
Hamas has suggested it would release hostages in exchange for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, along with the release of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants. However, Netanyahu remains resolute, insisting the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed, despite growing pressure and accusations of prioritizing military objectives over hostage lives.
As tensions mount, Israelis are calling for a “complete halt of the country” in protest, while critics accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the conflict to protect his political future. The situation has become an “earthquake,” according to security expert Nomi Bar-Yaacov, as Israel teeters on the brink of political and social upheaval.
With emotions running high, Netanyahu’s leadership faces its toughest challenge yet, as calls for action intensify across the nation.
