Clashes with the police are inevitable in Tel Aviv and other cities. According to local media, dozens of people have been detained. In Tel Aviv alone, organizers estimated 300,000 people gathered for the protests, The Times of Israel reported Sunday night. There are no official figures.
After reports of the bodies of six hostages found in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, Israel’s trade union confederation plans to paralyze the country on Monday with an unprecedented general strike to increase pressure on Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal to release the remaining hostages.
“We cannot continue to do nothing. It is unacceptable that Jews are being killed in the tunnels of Gaza, the news portal “ynet” quoted trade union leader Anon Bar David. “We have to make an agreement (with Hamas), an agreement is more important than anything else.”
According to the media, the protest strike was supposed to start at 6:00 AM. local time (5:00 a.m. CEST). The strike should also paralyze the work of Ben Gurion International Airport.
The Israeli army announced on Sunday morning that it had found the bodies of six hostages in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. News portal Axios quoted the National Institute of Forensic Medicine as saying the hostages were shot at close range 48 to 72 hours before the bodies were autopsied. Hence, they were killed between Thursday and Friday. A representative of the terrorist organization “Hamas”, meanwhile, said that the hostages were killed in an Israeli bombardment.
“We will not leave them to their fate,” chanted demonstrators in Tel Aviv, referring to the fate of the 100 or so hostages still held by Hamas. Protesters with blue and white national flags in their hands marched through the central streets of the city. Six coffins were symbolically placed in one of the scenes.
Protesters blocked one of the main highways in the evening. According to the media, they threw stones, fences, nails and metal objects on the roadway and set off fireworks. Police eventually cleared the street using stun grenades.
Protests took place in other cities as well. Demonstrators demanded that the government quickly reach an agreement that would allow for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
2024-09-02 16:00:27