“A general strike”, or almost. Israelis are called to strike on Monday, September 2, at the call of the powerful trade union center Histadrut, to force the government to reach an agreement to release hostages held in Gaza, after the army discovered six dead hostages in a tunnel.Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David said Monday that the strike would continue until 6 p.m., 12 hours earlier than originally scheduled. Shortly after that announcement, a Tel Aviv court announced that the strike would end at 2:30 p.m., the report said. Haaretz. Follow our live stream.
Disruptions and demonstrations in several cities. Since 6am this morning, several major cities, such as Tel Aviv and Haifa, have announced the closure of their municipal services today. Disruptions have also been recorded at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport, where departures have partially resumed after two hours of total interruption. In the localities participating in the movement, public transport, run by private companies, was operating at least partially, while the walkout is being followed unevenly in government services.
Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrate. They gathered in several cities across the country on Sunday to demand an agreement on the release of the hostages. In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a highway. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported several arrests after police dispersed hundreds of protesters.
Israel continues its military operation in the West Bank. The army launched a military operation on Wednesday in this Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. Loud explosions were heard Sunday near the Jenin refugee camp, from which a thick cloud of smoke rose. In the southern West Bank, three Israeli police officers were killed Sunday near a checkpoint in a “armed attack”according to Israeli police. A Palestinian suspected of being the perpetrator was shot dead by the army, it added.
The anti-polio campaign has begun in the Gaza Strip. A major anti-polio campaign was officially launched on Sunday with “humanitarian pauses” lasting three days each, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The operation aims to vaccinate more than 640,000 children under the age of ten, following the first confirmed case of the disease in the Palestinian territory in twenty-five years. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 72,611 children were vaccinated on the first day of the anti-polio campaign.