Strike for Gaza hostage deal brings parts of Israel to standstill

Court orders halt to strike that sees closure of municipal services in Tel Aviv and Haifa

A general strike brought parts of Israel to a halt on Sept 2 in a bid to raise pressure on the Israeli government to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, after the military recovered the bodies of six captives who the Health Ministry said had been "murdered" by Hamas.

Relatives and demonstrators have accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of not doing enough to bring the hostages back alive and, during mass rallies on Sept 1, called for a truce deal to help free dozens who remain captive.

The sentiment was shared by US President Joe Biden, who on Sept 2 was asked if he thought the Israeli leader was doing enough on the issue and responded: "No." The Israeli military said on Sept 1 that the bodies of six hostages, who were all captured alive during Hamas' Oct 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the Israel-Hamas war, had been recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip, prompting outpourings of grief and fury.

The Israeli Health Ministry said post-mortem examinations showed the six had been "murdered... with several close-range gunshots" shortly before they were found by troops.

Israel's Histadrut trade union called for a nationwide strike on Sept 2 for the return of the remaining 97 hostages, including 33 the military says are dead.

Tel Aviv and Haifa were among the cities that heeded the strike call, and announced that municipal services would be closed. Jerusalem did not take part, although light rail services were cancelled in the morning. Privately run public transportation services were at least partly functional at midday.

Haifa's port slowed down or ceased some of its activities, Histadrut spokesman Peter Lerner said on social media platform X.