Groups representing families of the hostages, slain soldiers and victims of Hamas’s October 7 massacre call for a general strike to take place next Sunday, against the war and the government’s plan to take over Gaza City.
“We will all pause next Sunday and say: ‘Enough, stop the war, return the hostages.’ It is in our hands,” says bereaved mother Reut Recht-Edri, whose son Ido Edri was murdered by Hamas at the Nova music festival, at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
Anat Angrest, the mother of Hamas hostage Matan Angrest, decries the decision to occupy the densely populated city, saying it will endanger those who remain in captivity.
“The government decided to occupy the Gaza Strip, to send soldiers to come closer to Matan. They are trying to bring him back, but in practice are endangering him,” she says.
She evokes the events of last September, in which six hostages were murdered in a tunnel by Hamas terrorists when IDF troops were nearing their location, and warns that the plan to conquer Gaza City approved on Thursday night will lead to a similar outcome for her son.
“The army came close to them [the six murdered hostages] as the prospect of a deal was being undermined. This is in addition to dozens of hostages that were kidnapped alive and murdered in captivity as a result of military pressure,” she continues.
The general strike, which has already received backing from leading figures in the opposition, is organized by the October Council, which represents families affected by Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
It lacks the support of the powerful Histadrut labor federation, however, after a Tel Aviv court barred it last year from calling a strike to pressure the government into sealing a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza, defining the matter as political rather than related to workers’ rights.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid comes out in support of the countrywide strike, tweeting that the hostage families’ call “to shut down the economy is justified and worthy. We will continue to stand by their side.”
Likewise, The Democrats chief Yair Golan comes out in favor of the strike, calling on “all citizens of Israel” to participate and arguing that it is impossible to continue with regular routines while “our brothers and sisters in Gaza” are being abandoned.