Protesters turn on Netanyahu in fury over deaths of six hostages

Thousands of Israelis take to streets as union chief calls general strike

- Julian Borger ,Quique Kierszenbaum

Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets last night and a general strike was called for the country amid an eruption of public outrage against the government after the deaths of six hostages being held by Hamas deep underground in Gaza.

The discovery of the hostages' bodies over the weekend threatened to bring profound tensions among Israelis over the war in Gaza to a boiling point.

An estimated 100,000 protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv while others protested in Jerusalem as pressure peaked on the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to reach a ceasefire deal to bring the remaining hostages home.

The first general strike since March last year is expected to bring large parts of Israel's economy to a halt today.

Government and municipal offices were due to close, as well as schools and many private businesses. Israel's international airport, Ben Gurion, is due to shut down at 8am local time for an unknown period.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino were found in tunnels "dozens of metres" underground during fighting in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza. The six were seized during Hamas's 7 October attacks on Israel.

The health ministry said that a forensic examination on the bodies showed the hostages had been "murdered by Hamas terrorists in a number of shots at close range" 48-72 hours before they were found.

The findings pointing to Hamas executions did little to deflect widespread fury towards Netanyahu and his rightwing coalition for failing to agree a US-backed hostages-forpeace deal with Hamas, which has been on the negotiating table since late May.

In a statement mourning the six hostages, the prime minister blamed Hamas for refusing to accept the deal.