The bodies of six hostages who disappeared during the Hamas attack on October 7 have been found in a tunnel in Rafah, the Israeli army announced on Sunday, September 1. They were among the 251 people kidnapped that day. According to local media, Times of Israelthe victims all had gunshot wounds to the head and other parts of their bodies. “The evidence shows that they were constantly neglected and went without washing for a long time,” the daily reported. The Israeli Health Ministry said the six hostages were killed 48 to 72 hours before their autopsies, between Thursday and Friday morning.
Currently, 97 hostages are still being held in the Palestinian enclave, 33 of whom have been declared dead by the IDF. Enough to fuel anger: after eleven months of war in Gaza, where the incessant bombardments of the Israeli army have caused more than 40,000 victims according to the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government, the families of hostages accuse the Israeli government of not doing enough to reach an agreement.
For the Hostage Families Forum, “the hostages have been neglected for eleven months.” On Sunday, September 1, relatives gathered with hundreds of supporters in front of the building where a cabinet meeting was being held in Jerusalem. Under Israeli flags, some held up signs with portraits of the hostages still in Gaza, shouting “Where are you?” from loudspeakers set up in front of a building where the government was meeting. Blowing whistles and beating drums, they urged the government to make concessions to reach an agreement. The group accuses their prime minister of maintaining the IDF presence in the Philadelphia Corridor – along the Gaza-Egypt border – which would constitute one of the points of tension with Hamas and prevent a ceasefire.
“A general strike”
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the deceased hostages, had repeatedly called on Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement guaranteeing the return of their loved ones, CNN recalls. They had even been invited to the national convention of the American Democratic Party where “they had given a moving speech”. Since the end of May, American President Joe Biden has put on the table a plan for a ceasefire with the release of all hostages in Gaza against Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But the Hebrew state and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas say they are categorically opposed to the conditions of the other camp.
Inside the country, other levers are being activated. The powerful Israeli trade union center, the Histadrut, declared a “general strike” on Monday, September 2, in order to force the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to accelerate the release of the hundred hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. “We must put an end to this abandonment of hostages […] “Tomorrow at 06:00 (03:00 GMT), the entire Israeli economy will be on general strike,” Histadrut leader Arnon Bar-David warned on Sunday. “At 08:00, the airport will be closed, takeoffs and landings will cease,” a statement from the Histadrut detailed. Restaurant and cinema chains have decided to close their doors on Sunday in “support” of the families of the hostages.
“Netanyahu hesitates”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also called on the Histadrut, municipalities and employers to go on a “general strike” on his Facebook page. “They were alive, Netanyahu and his cabinet of death decided not to save them. There are still hostages alive, we can still get an agreement,” added Yair Lapid. He was referring to a vote on Thursday, August 29, by the cabinet ratifying an Israeli condition, set as a prerequisite for an agreement and which Hamas and Egypt reject en bloc. The same tone for Benny Gantz, former minister of the war cabinet and now a figure of the opposition. On the social network X, he pointed the finger at the prime minister’s responsibility: “Netanyahu hesitates, is afraid and plays for time for political reasons instead of acting. This game costs lives. The prime minister should protect the hostages and the citizens of Israel, and not his coalition controlled by extremists.”
Enough to put pressure on the Israeli executive. Result: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called on Sunday for “an immediate government meeting to reverse this decision,” in reference to the cabinet vote last Thursday. “It is too late for the hostages who were shot in cold blood, we must bring back the hostages who are still in the hands of Hamas,” he continued. It remains to be seen how the Hebrew state will go about it.