A strike on Monday called by Israel’s largest labor union shuttered parts of the country to pressure the government into reaching a Gaza deal to free hostages, though several sectors were unaffected.
The Histadrut trade union called a nationwide strike beginning at 6:00 AM (0300 GMT), a day after mass demonstrations following the army’s announcement that troops had recovered the bodies of six hostages “murdered” in a Gaza tunnel.
An Israeli labor court ordered a halt to the strike called to support a deal that could secure the release of the hostages.
Like Tel Aviv, the northern coastal city of Haifa also heeded the strike calls and announced municipal services would be closed on Monday.
Haifa’s port slowed down or ceased some of its activities, Histadrut spokesman Peter Lerner said on the social media platform X.
The Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv saw some flights delayed, and none at all for two hours leading up to 10:00 AM.
But not all municipalities joined the strike, like Jerusalem where light rail services were still cancelled in the morning.
Private-run public transportation services were at least partly functional at midday.
The public sector was also affected, with some services paused.
“There is no reception for the public today but we are working in the offices,” said a worker at the national social insurance agency.
The employee, who opposes the strike and spoke on condition of anonymity, called it “a scandal” at a time the country remains at war, more than 11 months into the Hamas attack that triggered it.
“The Histadrut is behaving like a political body, not like a workers’ union.”
With AFP
