What are Israel’s protests and general strike about — and how big are they?

Protests have erupted across Israel, accompanied by a general strike, following the recovery of six bodies of captives held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7.

Despite Israel’s military claiming that the captives were killed by Hamas shortly before Israeli troops reached them, the outpouring of public anger has focused squarely on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet’s repeated failure to finalise a ceasefire deal that might see the captives home.

Let’s take a closer look at the protests and the strike that shut down much of Israel and all the latest on a ceasefire deal.

How big is this?

Very big. Histadrut, which called the one-day general strike on Monday, is Israel’s largest trade union and represents approximately 800,000 workers.

It has been backed by Israel’s main manufacturers and entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector. As a result, large parts of Israel’s economy have been shut down.

Thousands of people also took to the streets, closing down roads and demanding the government change its course of action to save the remaining captives, estimated to be 100, still in Gaza.

Who is joining the strike?

The Ben Gurion airport, Israel’s principal international gateway, was shut down from 8am (05:00 GMT), with unions considering extending the general strike on Tuesday. In 2023, a total of 21 million people landed at or flew from the airport,

The Israel Business Forum, which represents most private sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, joined the strike, as did large companies from Israel’s tech sector, such as Wix, Fiverr, HoneyBook, Playtika, Riskified, AppsFlyer, Monday.com, AI21 Labs and Lemonade.

The Manufacturers Association of Israel followed, accusing the government of failing in its “moral duty” to bring the captives back alive, and the Israel Bar Association’s director Amit Becher called on “all lawyers to go on strike”.

Hospitals and health clinics are operating at lowered capacity, but the Magen David Adom — the national medical, disaster, ambulance and blood service — is operating normally. The Israel Electric Corporation and the Mekorot water company are also working at lower capacity, but fire and rescue services are functioning normally.

Many government and municipal offices will also be shuttered through Monday. Those include Tel Aviv’s municipality, which provides services to the country’s largest economic hub.

The Teacher’s Union, a branch of Histadrut, said all K-12 schools will be open only until 11:45am, except schools for special needs students. The Association of University Heads said Israel’s research universities will also join the economic shutdown, though some scheduled exams would still be held.

Leading bus companies, including Egged, Dan and Metropolin, are also striking work in addition to Tel Aviv Light Rail and Haifa’s Carmelit underground railway system. Train delays were also reported amid the strike.

What’s happening with the protests?

Alongside the general strike, Israeli activists working with the family members of captives in Gaza have announced they intend to hold a series of protests nationwide on Monday.

According to a statement by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, demonstrators had planned to block important roads and intersections, along with entrances to many government and regional offices.

This follows the largest protests held since the start of the war on Gaza last October, which saw about half a million people pour into the streets late on Sunday. More than 300,000 people rallied in Tel Aviv, which has seen weekly demonstrations for close to a year.

People block a road as they protest in Tel Aviv on Sunday [Ariel Schalit/AP]

What has been the political response?

It has been divided. The far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, submitted an urgent request to the country’s attorney general to order a halt to the strike.

Smotrich, who along with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been a staunch opposer of a Gaza ceasefire deal, also directed the treasury not to pay salaries to anyone who joins the Histadrut strike.

The minister, who is under European Union scrutiny for potential sanctions, and Netanyahu are seeking an injunction to stop the strike through legal action. Smotrich has accused Histadrut chief Arnon Bar-David of “choosing to represent Hamas’s interests” by weakening the Israeli economy.

The Netanyahu government has promised a “strong” response to Hamas, which like many previous occasions has insisted that the six captives were killed as a result of Israeli air strikes.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who has called on the government to reach a deal in the past, backed the strike. He has accused the Netanyahu administration of pushing the country into “the greatest anarchy” and argued that the public is showing “incredible control” in the face of mismanagement by the government.

Is there any chance for a ceasefire deal?

The latest round of mediated negotiations in Qatar and Egypt in recent weeks have stalled again amid an exacerbating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and as voices inside and outside Israel accuse Netanyahu of blocking an agreement by presenting outlandish demands to serve his political interests.

Key sticking points continue to include Netanyahu’s insistence on not withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor, which constitutes Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, and the so-called Netzarim Corridor, the Israeli military route that has cut Gaza in half.

Senior Hamas political official Khalil al-Hayya told Al Jazeera on Monday that Netanyahu is also refusing to release some of the older Palestinian prisoners held by Israel as part of an exchange deal. Israel is yet to confirm or deny this claim.