Aug. 17 (UPI) — A nationwide strike on Sunday commenced in Israel as several hundred thousand people protested, demanding the government secure the release of 50 hostages still held by the militant group Hamas in Gaza.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum and October Council, which represents family members of hostages or relatives of those killed, organized the strike and demonstrations.
The council wanted nearly one million people to go through Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and others to join in activities at cities throughout the nation.
“Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life,” Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, said at Hostage Squae. “Today, we stop everything to join hands — right, left, center and everything in between.”
The largest demonstrations were in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where they blocked major roads and closed businesses. They passed out yellow ribbons at intersections and protested outside the homes of government ministers.
The demonstrations are among the largest ones since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.
They started at 6:29 a.m., the exact time when Hamas launched its attack on Israel.
Israeli police said 38 protesters were arrested in Israel for disturbing the peace as of early Sunday afternoon. They deployed a water cannon to disperse the crowd who sat inside a tunnel along a road that leads to the capital in Jerusalem.
Families of hostages announced in Tel Aviv an “emergency break” until they are released.
“Today, we stop everything to save the lives of 50 hostages and soldiers,” Anat Engrest, whose son, Matan, is held hostage in Gaza, during a news conference Sunday with October Council. “Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during a visit to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, voiced his support for the families.
“We want them back home as soon as possible,” Herzog said. “The world should want them back home as soon as possible. Stop being a bunch of hypocrites. Press — because when you know how to press, you press — press and tell Hamas, ‘No deal, no nothing, until you release them,’ ”
He said the hostages are the “most important issue on world affairs.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the demonstrations.
“Those who are calling today to end the war without defeating Hamas not only harden Hamas’ stance and delay the release of our hostages — they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will repeat themselves again and again,” he said at a cabinet meeting.
The strike was a “cynical political maneuver on the backs of the hostages,” Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Minister of National Security, said.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said: “You can continue to hide behind spins and political calculations, but you cannot escape responsibility.”
The group plans to set up an encampment on the Gaza border. “Waypoint 50” will represent the 50 hostages to pressure the government to get their release.
“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,” released hostage Arbel Yehoud, whose boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, is still held captive, said. “The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”
“We are united in one simple demand directed at the Israeli government: Put an Israeli proposal on the table today for a comprehensive deal — to end the war in exchange for the return of the last hostage,” Vicky Cohen, whose son, Nimrod, is a hostage, said. “No slogans, no sabotage, no demands that we know the other side won’t accept. “It’s time to end the horrific nightmare the entire country has been living in for 22 months.
It wasn’t disclosed how long the strike would last.
Histadrut, Israel’s largest labor organization, didn’t join the strike, though they encouraged employers to allow their workers to participate.
“If I knew that a strike — not just for one day but longer — would end the matter, stop the war and bring back the hostages, I would go for it with full force,” Histadrut chair Arnon Bar-David, senior representatives of the business sector, said to the Times of Israel. “Unfortunately, and although my heart is bursting with anger, it has no practical outcome.”
Technology companies, law firms, academic institutions and others in the public and private sector plan to take the day off or refrain from business transactions.
Last week, the strike was announced after they said the hostages’ lives are in danger when Israel’s security cabinet voted to expand the war and take over Gaza City.
An estimated 90% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced, the Agency for Palestinian Refugees said in May.
There was a cease-fire between Jan. 19 to March 1, during which 25 Israeli living hostages and 1,737 Palestinian prisoners were released. Israeli believe 20 hostages are still alive.
In late March, Hamas agreed to release five hostages, including the American-Israeli Edan Alexander, as part of a 50-day cease-fire proposal from Egypt and Qatar. Alexander was released in May, but there was no cease-fire.
A 60-day ceasefire was later proposed by the United States.
In July, the last round of negotiations ended without any deal when Israel and the United States withdrew their teams in Doha, Qatar. They accused Hamas of not negotiating in good faith.